


Wondrous Adventures of Harley, English, and Strider

by spectralPhobia



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Illustrated, M/M, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, Romance, and everyone is BAMF, everyone makes mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-05-18 19:12:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 264,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5940019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spectralPhobia/pseuds/spectralPhobia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake English has a pretty straightforward life: he is an amateur writer who travels around the world with his twin sister Jade Harley and their dog Becquerel, thinking this is the best a life could be.<br/>Meeting Dirk Strider is only the beginning of the journey of changing his worldview, as well as an epic quest of saving the world, when spirits from an ancient legend come to life.<br/>A story about adventures, magic, conspiracy, sacrifices, smart people and clever plans, people who make mistakes, and many instances of great love.<br/>Set in a sort of steampunk world (no computer technologies, airships are a predominant way of travelling).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Empty Space

**Author's Note:**

> The world and the names of all the cities are made up. Click [here](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/post/140439325413) to learn more information about the world and to see the map of the Empire where every city that's mentioned in the fic is labelled. This way it will be easier not to get lost in a ton of unknown names.  
> This fic was inspired by many 90s TV shows, so I tried to use a similar pattern; it's a story I've always wanted to write, sort of a "classic adventure", and I've been writing it for more than a year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  
> All chapters are complete, except for some illustrations, that's why you shouldn't worry about me abandoning it. Keeping with the TV show traditions, I will publish a chapter each week.  
> The main focus is on Jake, Dirk, and Jade, and while I gave other characters some development too, don't expect them to receive much screen time.  
> Be prepared for the unexpected villians.  
> Also, just because I make someone a villian here, doesn't mean I don't like them.  
> The story is told through Jake's POV mostly, with occasional POVs of other characters.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No action happens in this chapter, it's like a prologue. You should wait for the second chapter if you want to see the real plot kicking in.

_Hanging on in quiet desperation_

_Is the English way._

***

It all started on an average day, when something that has never broken down broke down. It was almost midnight, and Jake English, a dark-haired boy in rectangular glasses, was sitting on a beanbag, reading a journal he wrote about his travelling experiences, and occasionally adding extra sentences or crossing out words. A large dog with thick white fur was sleeping peacefully next to a wall where multiple framed plant samples were displayed; the murmuring of the dirigible’s engines created a somnolent background noise. They were returning home from another week-long trip to a nearby area to collect information for the flora research his twin sister, Jade Harley, did, as well as just to spend time in a beautiful place. Sometimes he looked at Jade, who was sitting in the flight deck with her eyes fixed on the control panel – it was her turn to navigate the airship this time. The only thing dividing the so-called living room of the dirigible where Jake was and the flight deck was a cased opening – the cabin was designed specifically in a way that allowed the person navigating to step away and relax at any time without having to go far away from the control panel.

“That’s weird...” Jade muttered under her breath.

“What is?” Jake put the journal aside instantly.

“It’s probably a mistake,” she tapped the altimeter softly. “It says that we are losing altitude, but all the other sensors show normal parameters... And the gas cells are full...” She looked at her brother in worry.

“Maybe it’s malfunctioning, we will need to get it fixed once we arrive home,” Jake said to calm her down, even though he started to worry too – it was their worst fear, to get an unexpected equipment failure while being several kilometres above the ground.

“I’ll go check the cells for a leak anyway,” Jade said and started climbing the ladder that led on the second level, where all the engines and machinery was placed, but suddenly the airship was shaken as if they collided into something. Jake was thrown to the side, smashing his head at the wall, Jade yelped and fell off the ladder, but the dog, Becquerel, was awake within seconds and caught her on his back. The twins scrambled on their feet to look through the windows: there was no visible damage as far as they could see, but they were falling perceptibly fast now.

“Scratch that,” Jake sat in the pilot’s sit, and Jade took the second one. “We need to land promptly. How far away we are from home?”

“I don’t know, all the navigation instruments are busted,” she groaned, pulling at her hair, looking at the indicators where every single needle pointed at zero. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm down and looked at the scenery below them, squinting to see in the dark. “The Plum Woods. We just need to fly twenty more kilometres.”

“I hope we can manage that,” Jake said, pushing switches on the gas board to decrease the amount of helium in the gas cells. “I hate to imagine us having to drag this thing home if we miss the landing ground.”

“And I hate to imagine us  _dying_  if we crash in the forest,” Jade answered. Her attempts to switch the indicators on again were fruitless, she started panicking. Now they were almost in a freefall, but with one engine still working they could correct the course and glide the airship through the air in a direction where their house was. Jake’s hand slipped on the switch because of another shake, and he let out too much gas, which caused the dirigible to drop significantly, but Jade jerked a lever, the engine roared and they jolted up again, toppling sideways, and the scraping the tree tops. Bec and all the loose things in the living room slid to the side; now they were going down even quicker.

“We are almost there, we can make it!” Jade exclaimed, pointing at the three-storey house that was visible now; it was the only building in the area near a small lake surrounded by a spacious meadow – it was cleaned specifically in order to be able to land a dirigible freely, which wasn’t easy even when it was a fully functional vehicle.

Jake gulped, imagining being crashed under gigantic mass of metal quite vividly.

“I think we are going to have to jump once we lower it, we won’t be able to land properly,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

“I’ll aim for the lake,” Jade nodded and turned rudder wheel, making the dirigible head towards the water, then deserted the cockpit and stood with Jake near the exit, wrapping the beanbag around Bec, so that it would break his fall, getting ready for the perfect moment to jump down. They were flying over the end of the forest, but the dirigible was too low now, and the gondola collided with a tree, jerking to the side again; the collision threw the three passengers at the door – it flew open, and they were thrown in the air.

Jake felt the air being knocked out of his lungs as he hit the ground and rolled over, mouth full of bitter taste of grass and dirt. Jade and Bec crashed nearby, and he straightened up to see the dirigible smashing into the ground, ploughing it and splashing into lake’s surface close to the shore. This finally stopped the machine, and it laid still in water, not sinking because of the helium still inside the cells.

Thankfully, their fall was short, leaving nothing but a couple of bruises, and both Jake and Jade jumped on their feet and rushed to the gondola submerged in water to save their possessions from soaking, Bec ran along with them as an incredibly smart dog he was. They threaded their way through the water and started grabbing things and throwing them to the shore.

The crash has attracted people inside the house, a group of four leaded by a short man in a black suit with a scar crossing his right eye. The man swung a cane decorated with a horse’s head and looked the scene over with an unimpressed face.

“Is everyone alright here?” he asked, watching the siblings standing knee-deep in the water.

“Mr. Slick!” Jake cried happily when spotting him and three other men in black standing behind. “Mr. Boxcars, Mr. Deuce, Mr. Droog, thanks goodness you are here, we crash-landed!”

“Help us carry all those things to the shore, it’s a matter of life and death!” Jade added and waved at them to attract attention. Bec sprinted past her carrying some wet books in his mouth.

Mr. Slick walked up to the water nonchalantly. “I don’t see you being in mortal danger. Helping you unpack isn’t in our paychecks,” he raised his eyebrows. Jade rolled her eyes.

“Fine, we will double your monthly payment if you help us save our belongings!”

The four men exchanged looks, and the largest of them cracked his knuckles.

“Alright-o, let’s get started then.”

The easiest way to work with the group that called themselves the Midnight Crew was offering them money. This was one of the reasons the siblings hired them to guard their home by living in it during their frequent trips to faraway lands – they didn’t seem to have much interest in stealing artefacts (or in artefacts in general, seeing how they were dumping the siblings’ belongings on the ground without a care, mixing soaked soap with old manuscripts). The other reason was, of course, because their grandparents told them to.

When June and Joss Harleys were alive, they told the twins that in time of need they could always visit the bar called The Exiles in Nocteville – the main town which their house technically belonged to, even though it was situated several kilometres away from the rest of the neighbourhood. The people there owed the Harleys some favours, they said, and would agree to help their grandchildren out. When Jake and Jade came there (and only years later they realized just what an intimidating, dangerous place The Exiles was, with criminals and thugs making up most of its clientele), they saw four men in black playing a card game and proceeding to beat up some bandits in green. The twins were only eleven years old and weren’t interested in the reasons of the fight, they were just impressed by the mastery they demonstrated and thought the Crew was perfectly suitable to protect their house while they were gone. Now they were nineteen, and for the past eight years they never had to doubt their loyalty.

“So...” Jake rubbed his face tiredly after carrying the last pair of shoes to the dry land; at least an hour passed since the crash, even with four extra pairs of hands assisting. He was getting cold, soaked clothes clung to his skin uncomfortably. “What are we going to do about this? I was thinking we should tow it to the shore so that the water won’t corrupt the engines.”

“Yes, this, and we should look for what we can repair...” Jade yawned widely, “...ourselves... But this can wait till morning. I feel like I can’t move a finger, god, I’m so tired.”

They dismissed Slick and his accomplices, telling them they would need them again soon, and pushed the gondola towards the shore so that the water would touch it ever so slightly. After yawing so wide Jake was afraid his face would split apart, he bid his sister goodbye, trudging after her on the second floor of the house. He entered his bedroom, and collapsed onto his bed immediately after pulling off the wet clothes.

This room and this house were Jake’s home for as long as he could remember himself; it was a part of the heirdom Jade and he inherited from their grandparents after they died. Their family’s roots were buried deep into the grounds of this meadow, many generations of the Harleys used to live here except for their actual parents, who decided to leave Nocteville and buy their own house in another town before Jake and Jade were born. They died too, a long time ago, and the siblings were taken into their grandparents’ custody.

After being the only ones left of their family, Jake and Jade inherited the dirigible that was constructed by their grandparents, a hot air balloon, a library full of books, as well as some journals their grandmother wrote, collections of ancient items, the value of which they didn’t understand when they were young, and, of course, lots of money, which allowed them to lead a wealthy life and not perish without adult supervision after they were left alone at the age of ten.

There was no need to find a source of stable income, but the twins still had something resembling jobs, simply because they would be bored out of their minds otherwise. Jake has always been inspired by the stories Grandma used to tell them, so he decided to follow her path and become a part writer, part adventurer. He collected legends and stories all throughout the world, as well as documented their travelling and wrote the series called _Wondrous Adventures of Harley and English_.

Jade had a more practical approach to life and wanted to become a scientist – she has always had a passion for studying flora. Jake has never been able to understand the fascination Jade had with looking at flowers, and leaves, and grass, but when she talked about botany, she sounded so passionate it seemed like the most important thing in the world. Unfortunately, no science centres offered her a job or accepted her research, but Jake thought Jade was better working independently, staying true to the last admonition they heard from Grandma and Grandpa: always stay together and never leave each other’s side. And that was exactly what they did: they have never been apart for too long, and they felt like they were two parts of the same living organism.

Nobody was surprised to see two kids living alone, and nobody offered them help – the world they lived in encouraged children to be independent and leave their families’ nests at young age. That’s why the families usually found their members scattered around the world, sometimes even without contact, since the technology only allowed sending telegrams or hand-written letters with special mail airships or trains.

This, their frequent absence from home, and the fact that they lived so far away from the rest of the town led to not making any friends among the neighbours; the Midnight Crew didn’t count, as being technically employees. None of the people they met in other towns became their friends either, mostly because they didn’t stay long enough there. Besides, they were too used to having only each other’s company; they didn’t know what it would be like to have someone else to dilute it. But Jake wasn’t complaining – Jade and Bec were the best company a guy could wish for.

***

When Jake woke up next morning, at first he was happy about finally having a good night’s sleep in his large comfy bed with fluffy pillows, and not in a sleeping bag in a cramped room in the dirigible. The light breeze blowing in a window carried the smells of early June, and Jake smiled, putting on his glasses with green frames. However, as soon as he remembered the work they had to do with fixing the no doubt shattered framework of the dirigible and finding the reasons of the malfunctioning, he groaned and wanted to hide under the blanket and never come out. However, the smell of freshly baked pancakes made him change his mind, so he climbed off the bed and went down to the patio after dropping by the closet to take some ropes. The patio was covered by a roof casting a nice cool shadow over the table, a set of old armchairs, and a blue chintz couch.

Jade and Bec were sitting at the table, as expected, consuming pancakes; Jade was turning over the pages of a thick book.

“Good morning,” Jake said, dropping onto a chair and grabbing a whole plate of pancakes.

“Aha,” Jade responded, concentrating on the text in front of her, and Jake didn’t push the conversation further – he knew that Jade didn’t like to be disturbed when reading. He looked at the lake, saw the dirigible still floating nearby, and sighed deeply, pouring chocolate sauce all over the plate.

Jade slammed the book shut, and looked up; her bright green eyes were sparkling behind round glasses.

“We are in luck! I checked the Yellow Pages, and judging by the reviews, it seems that the best engineers in the Empire are only two days of travelling away! Come on, let’s tow it onto the shore.”

She grabbed some of the ropes Jake brought and motioned at Bec to take the rest. Jake dropped the fork, regarded his untouched pancakes with great sadness, and trailed after her.

“Great, we can hire them to fix the dirigible!” He thought for a moment, while tying the ropes to the side of the airship. “Are you sure we can’t fix it ourselves?”

He knew nothing about mechanics, but the idea of inviting an outsider to work with the delicate equipment constructed by June and Joss was an uncomfortable one.

Jade pulled on her rope to tighten the knot. “We are not experts, and it has never broken down before, so it has to be something serious, right?”

“Indeed, we have always taken it for granted,” Jake sighed.

“And what if we fix something wrong, and fly it, and go down again? Next time luck can be not on our side,” Jade continued.

“I agree, you don’t have to convince me anymore,” Jake climbed inside the framework to fill a gas cell with helium, to lift the dirigible up in the air a bit, so that Jade and Bec could use the ropes to pull it towards the shore. When he saw that the airship was above the ground, he let out the gas, lowering it to bump into the ground with a loud _’thump’_.

Jake stayed inside for a while; looking at the broken framework and bits of metal and wires hanging around it almost felt like a betrayal. Their beloved grandparents constructed it with their own hands, and he has always thought it would work forever, like a giant memorial celebrating their genius. The dirigible was their second home, a welcoming beacon of safety during trips in faraway lands, a reminder of the good old times they had with Grandma and Grandpa, and it pained him to see it weak and broken.

Jade stuck her head through the hatch below and asked, “You alright in here?”

“Just peachy,” Jake smiled at her. “Thinking about Grandma and Grandpa, that’s all.”

They jumped down to the ground, and Jade put the hand on the side of the dirigible, looking at a stylized picture of an atom and a spirograph inside the letters SN. _SkaiaNet_ was written below.

“Don’t worry, old friend,” Jade said and stroked the dirigible. “We are going to get you fixed, and you will be up and running again.”

“When do you think we should head to those engineers you found? Right now?” Jake asked, feeling the need to leave as soon as they could, as if the sooner they got it repaired, the sooner their grandparents’ spirits would be resurrected.

“I was thinking after lunch. This way we will arrive on Thursday’s afternoon and we won’t have to stay overnight there.”

“Whatever you decide,” Jake answered. “I have to compose a rough plot for the next _Wondrous Adventures_ anyway.”

“And I need to finish writing about Anthericum liliago...” She mused and smacked him on the back. “Don’t forget, it’s your turn to cook dinner tonight!”

Jake laughed, “Alright, duty accepted, but I’m taking the couch on the patio!”

“No fair!” Jade gasped in fake indignation. “My research is way more important than your storytelling, so I’m taking it!”

“Not if you can’t beat me to it!” Jake exclaimed and rushed towards the sweetest spot in the entire house.

“Hey!” He heard Jade screaming behind. “Bec, take the couch!!”

The white dog sprinted past him, outrunning him easily, leaping, and landing on the couch. He cocked his head and stuck out his tongue, as if mocking Jake.

“Ha-ha!” Jade caught up with them and hugged Becquerel. “Team Jade wins again! Who is a good boy? Who loves me, who loves me?” She talked to him sweetly.

Jake put his hands on his hips and pouted, “Enlisting Bec’s help wasn’t fair, of course he would win!”

“All is fair in love and war, brother,” Jade stuck her finger in the air, “And a race to the patio couch is the noblest war there is”.

“Maybe next time I will ask Bec to help too.”

“Su-u-ure, you can do that,” Jade laughed, retrieving her journals and a pen.

The truth was that despite Becquerel being the family’s dog, the only person he really listened to was Jade. Grandma told them that even when they weren’t born yet, and Bec was her dog, she could never achieve the level of loyalty he displayed towards Jade. Perhaps he saw her as a soulmate of sorts, because she loved dogs so much. It’s not like Bec wasn’t loyal to Jake too, he just loved giving him a hard time sometimes. Maybe it was his weird dog sense of humour, or maybe he simply had a preference, just like how Jake was a lot closer with June, and Jade – with Joss.

Jake sighed as he thought about how anxious Bec would get when they travel tomorrow: the hot air balloon they usually used for short trips and emergencies was too small for all three of them. The dirigible wasn’t the most spacious thing too, but at least it had enough room for him to run around and sleep wherever he wanted.

Jake spent the rest of the day drafting an approximate plot he could use for his next story – to his dissatisfaction, it turned out to be shorter than he expected and not as exciting as he hoped it would be. He wondered if he should wait for something else to happen or simply contrive the exciting events using his own imagination; by the time he cooked chicken schnitzels for lunch he decided that he has hit a writer’s block with this story and instead continued working on another project of his, called _The Legends of the World_.

It was, as the title pointed out, a collection of legends and myths, a study of their history and influence on the cultures of different time periods. It was going to be the crown jewel of his writing, an epitome of their adventures, that’s why it was taking him so long to finish it – he didn’t want a speck of untrue information to be there. This dream was inspired by Grandma’s bedtime stories too, therefore the first legends described in the manuscript were the ones she used to tell him.

He took the work with him later that day, when the hot air balloon was lifted up to fly to the city of Avis, where the engineers were; Jake hasn’t been on a balloon for so long that he forgot what it was like to be crammed in a small basket with barely enough space to lie down on a hard floor. They have packed the supplies to last two days, in order not to overload the balloon, thinking they would get the rest when they arrive in the city. They have also decided to reduce the stops to a minimum in order to shorten the length of the trip.

The clothes they chose for the trip were their usual travelling garbs – thick white shirt, dark green waistcoat, and thin scarf for Jake, and brown vest with green shirt and leather gloves for Jade. The similar colour schemes were due to the fact they used the same materials to sew clothes, but the twins were also happy to find another way to emphasize how alike they were.

Jake’s scarf wasn’t an essential part of his wardrobe, but he wore it in homage to Professor Ampora, one of his idols, famous for never being seen without a scarf, no matter where he went. Eridan Ampora was a Sandford University professor and an author of Jake's favourite historical treatise, “The Fallen Empire”, which talked about the rise and fall of the old Empire that existed two thousand years ago.

Jake would have gladly worn something to signify his respect for Aradia Megido, an archaeologist and Eridan’s frequent partner in investigation of the ancient civilisation, but unfortunately, she didn’t wear any specific garments he could adopt, so he settled on simply admiring her writing, like “Apocalypse Arisen” and “The Studies in Authenticity”.

They landed in their destination point in the afternoon, just as Jade calculated. Avis was a densely populated city, the biggest in the entire Empire, so it came as no surprise that the best engineers chose to work here. They landed the balloon just outside the city’s borders, and Bec jumped down immediately and started running around in circles with happy barking. Jake completely understood how he felt, and even wanted to join him, but Jade and he had to go to the market to get supplies for their way back.

“You’ve been here with Grandma once, haven’t you?” Jade asked, stretching with a pleased smile. She earned an eye-roll from Jake.

“Yes, when I was five,” he said. Their trips usually revolved about archaeology, which couldn’t be found in Avis, which was a modern city. “So I don’t remember where the market is, if that’s what you are implying.”

“No problem, we are just going to ask the locals– oh my god, look at this!” She shouted suddenly and ran to a nearby tree to look at a flower twining into its rind. “That’s _exactly_ what the SSC magazine said they wanted more information about, maybe they will finally accept my research!”

She pulled her botanist kit out and made some measurements while chattering excitedly about how the roots were parasitizing on a tree, and how it could make her research valuable enough to _finally_ be recognized as a real scientist, and Jake cleared his throat pointedly.

“So are we going to wait while you finish?”

“Huh? No, of course not. Go on without me,” she pulled out her drawing pad and started depicting the way the roots grew. “And take Bec, he could use a little stroll.”

“What, no! You know what he does when we are alone, he is going to run off again somewhere, and I will–”

Jade threw a ruler at him.

“Go bond with Becquerel! I feel like you need it, you said you wanted to get him to help you someday.”

Jake sighed, “I guess I did.”

Becquerel sat in front of him, and maybe it was just Jake’s imagination, but he could swear the look he gave him was mischievous.

“Fine... Come one, Bec,” he beckoned the dog.

“Take care,” Jade said, fully submerged in her work again.

Becquerel strolled quietly by Jake’s side like he was trying to get hired as the loyalest dog companion, but as soon as they disappeared out of Jade’s sight, Jake warned him, “I know you are plotting something. I should have really brought a leash to prevent you from pulling any fender-benders...”

Bec growled upon hearing the word “leash” and broke loose instantly, running along the thick bushes supposedly signifying the boarder of the city.

“Where are you going?!” Jake chased after him. “Avis is that way, come back!”

But Bec was a lot faster on his four paws, and he quickly reached the forest, where Jake lost the sight of him. He stepped into the forest carefully, hoping to spot a patch of white in the green surrounding him.

“Bec? Becquerel! I’m sorry for saying about the leash, I was joking!” He made his way through thick verdure. “Come back, please, Jade will kill me if she has to go find you herself again!”

The bushes moved, and Bec jumped out with a stick in his mouth, wagging his tail excitingly.

“Oh. You want to play?”

Figures, Bec was too tired and cranky after sitting in the balloon, a good run would do him good.

Jake took the stick, and Bec twirled around, ready to catch it.

“Alright, but only once, we don’t want to waste much time, Jade will miss us... Or not, she probably won’t even notice the passage of time, she is too excited about her flowers.”

They entered the outskirts of the city, all while Bec spun around Jake excitedly, trying to snatch the stick.

“Alright-o, Bec, I dare you to catch this!” He swayed his arm and threw the stick, which flew over a single-storey building. At least this way it’d take Bec longer to retrieve it.

But right when Bec was prepared to dash around the building, there was a soft thump and someone swore.

“Hey, you gotta look where you throw those things,” a guy came out from around the building, holding a stick in one hand and a bag in another.

Jake wanted to smack his own forehead – the outskirts seemed so deserted he didn’t even think someone could be around.

“I apologize–” he began, but Bec has already leaped at the guy to catch the stick, they collided, and Bec, being a giant heavy dog, sent him crashing onto the ground. Two paws pressed at his chest with a force of a bear, and Bec growled, sniffing the guy with suspicion. Jake gasped and hurried to shove the dog off.

“Becquerel, you naughty, bad dog!!” Jake pushed him in vain. “Just give him the stick, that’s what he is after!”

The guy did as told, and Becquerel started chewing it, losing all interest in the further development of the scene.

Jade will be hearing some choice words about his behaviour today.

Jake helped the guy up; he looked young, maybe about Jake’s age, but was taller and skinnier than him, and had weirdly styled blonde hair. His skin was pale, like he has never been out in the sun, but he couldn’t take a good look at his face because of something like triangular shades covering half of it. Jake suddenly realized that he should be apologizing instead of staring in this situation, and quickly said, “Goodness gracious, I am so, so sorry, sir.”

He even reached out to shake off the dust from the guy’s clothes, but stopped mid-movement, thinking in would be too unceremonious.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” he answered. “Not the first time I’m being thrown on the ground.”

Jake couldn’t understand whether he was joking or not because of how monotonous his voice was, but he grinned anyway.

“I am really sorry, Becquerel can be a true devilbeast sometimes, especially when my sister is not around, she is the only one he listens to. I hope you are not mad?” Jake asked.

“No reason to be mad,” he answered. “Your dog is very strong.”

“Okay, good... I am Jake, by the way,” he extended an arm for a handshake. “And this monster is Bec. We think he might be part bear,” he attempted to defuse the tension with a joke.

“I’m Dirk,” his hand was scrawny and warm.

“Very nice meeting you, Dirk!” Jake shook it enthusiastically. “I’m sorry our introduction was so spastic.”

“It was certainly the most exciting introduction that happened to me in years,” he broke the handshake. “You are not from Avis, are you?”

“Yes, we are from Nocteville, actually! How did you guess?”

“Nobody around here wears air-tight clothes just for shits and giggles; you have an appearance of a traveller. Besides, everyone is usually at work this time of the day.”

“You are not,” Jake pointed out, and Dirk patted the bag he was carrying that produced metal sounds.

“I had some business to attend to.”

“Well, great detective skills, mister!”

“Merely observations,” Dirk shrugged. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Yes, actually – do you know where the closest market is? I need to buy some food, water, and gasoline for the road.”

“Sure, it is relatively close. Let me show you the way.”

“Thank you, the kindest of citizens!” Jake bowed jokingly and whistled for Bec to follow him. He noticed that the back of Dirk’s jacket was still covered in dust and felt a rush of guilt again.

“Sorry for knocking you off. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m blaming Bec, because it was my fault too – but I’m blaming him, he is probably taking revenge on me for saying I should put him on the leash. He hates leashes.”

“I told you, it’s not a big deal, you can stop apologizing,” Dirk stuck his hands into the jacket’s pockets. “Your dog is familiar with the concept of vengeance?”

“Yes, he is a pretty smart dog. Even though sometimes he behaves like a puppy that hasn’t been trained at all.”

The closer they got to the city centre, the more crowded the streets became. The buildings were also getting taller and richer. Becquerel was jogging along with them; he probably thought that he has caused enough trouble for one day, or maybe he finally got enough exercising to stretch his muscles.

“Do you have any pets, Dirk?” Jake asked, watching Bec chase after a ladybug.

“No, I’ve never had anyone,” he replied. “But there was a bajillion crows who liked to fly into my old house the moment they saw an open window, does this count?”

“Sounds amusing,” Jake laughed. “And as an expert on animal matters I proclaim that yes, it does count.”

“I assure you, it wasn’t funny at the slightest. They’ve pecked our food and stole our property. We used to think it was robbers’ fault, until I saw one of those feathery bastards stealing coins from the piggy bank...” He paused, perhaps reminiscing about the good old past. “I was never able to get anything back.”

“Dang, I take my earlier statement back then,” Jake looked around the streets. “Although I don’t see any crows here...”

“Like almost everyone else, I used to live in another town when I was younger.”

“Were the crows the reason you moved?”

“Maybe they were one of the reasons. The main one was the opportunities Avis provided.”

Jake nodded solemnly, “I can see that, it is an incredibly big city, a lot bigger than Nocteville, where we live. I have never been here though, would you be so kind to tell me more about Avis?”

While that wasn’t exactly true, Jake loved listening to locals telling about their cities, they always knew something outsiders didn’t; so Jake spent the rest of the walk listening to an abridged summary of Avis routine, which spiralled into discussing pros and cons of living in a big city as opposed to a small town. They also had to chase Bec, who used the fact that they were too preoccupied with their conversation to pay attention to him to run away and get lost in a crowd of passengers waiting at a train station.

Jake also shared his plans about visiting a place called Horace’s Cove and was met with a huff that seemed especially displeased in contrast to Dirk’s previous monotonous voice.

“What, you don’t like it?” Jake asked.

“I just know the owner,” Dirk said, schooling his voice back into monotone. “Takes second prize in the assholes contest.”

“Oh,” Jake said, slightly taken aback. He tried hard to avoid conflicts whenever possible. “Anything else you would recommend then?”

“You can always go to Centaur Technologies, the equipment is just as advanced, and the owners have their heads on their shoulders instead of their asses.”

Jake nodded. “Okey-doke, I’ll think about it. I need to ask my sister first anyway. And she will ask Becquerel...”

He looked around, suddenly realizing he lost sight of Bec again. He spun around on his heels, and with relief, spotted him sitting not far away with an utterly jeering expression.

“See, he is doing it on purpose!” Jake said, pointing at him.

“And that’s why I’ve never got a dog,” Dirk said. “Too much trouble.”

“Thanks goodness my sister isn’t here, she would give you such a lecture,” Jake smiled.

To his surprise, Jake was kind of disappointed when they finally reached the market and he realized nothing was keeping Dirk here anymore.

“Here we are,” Dirk pointed towards rows and rows of merchants. “Bit of advice – that old lady at the third tent sells the best quality products.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“Not a problem.”

“So...” Jake hesitated, wondering if it would be a weird thing to ask. “Would you like to go shopping with me?”

Dirk didn’t answer right away, thinking it through, and sounded genuinely regretful when he said, “Sorry. I have work to do. I've already slacked off enough.”

“Oh. Okay then... Goodbye?” He half-said, half-asked.

“Goodbye, Jake, see you around,” they shook hands, lingered for a moment in silence, and then turned to different directions.

 _It doesn’t feel right_ , Jake thought while looking at the displayed fruits and vegetables, _feels unfair for some reason. We shouldn’t have parted so easily..._

Jake and Jade were used to making short-term friends, it was necessary to succeed in their explorations: they talked to people nicely, were polite and voila! – now they had a new friend who could do them a couple of favours when needed, and then they were off to the next land, to talk to new, fresh people. But this was one of those rare times he whole-heartedly wanted to be friendly with a person, not because it was some kind of a tedious job. It was like something clicked between him and Dirk, something he couldn’t describe in words. Unlike most of the times, Jake didn’t have to struggle to choose words, their conversation ran smoothly, one topic transforming into another, and he even chased after Bec with him without a second thought.

It was unusual, and it was certainly nice.

With his mind made up, he turned around hastily to call out for Dirk to at least ask for his address to send a letter, but it was too late – he disappeared.

Jake felt even more crestfallen than before, but he tried to shrug it off – after all, that’s what having a short-term friendship meant.

So he picked some dog food along with the snacks Jade and he wouldn't have to cook, as well as some gasoline and a map of the city, and headed back to the balloon where his sister waited.

She hugged Bec quickly, paying no attention to Jake’s rant about his behaviour, and went back to examining her flowers and making notes in the journal.

Jake sat on the ground, with his back against the basket, and opened his own journal.

_“I met a guy in Avis, his name was Dirk, he was very interesting. I think we could’ve become friends.”_

He tapped the pages with a pen lightly, thinking what else to write about Dirk, there had got to be more, it’s impossible that their meeting could be summed up in two short sentences.

The journal he wrote was both a diary and a rough draft for his book, but his readers most likely wouldn’t be interested in such a short and meaningless scene. He started imagining how he could transform it into a published text – maybe it could be something thought-provoking like “some things are not meant to be” or “don’t be too hopeful if you don’t want to be disappointed later”... Or perhaps it would be better to omit this passage at all, these ideas were too depressing. He had a rule for writing – the stories should always be positive, and even if something sad happened, there should always be a happy ending to balance it out.

Instead he should write about how happy Jade was about her discovery. Jade has always played the main part in his books, both because she participated in all of their adventures actively, and because she was his whole world. Every story had a dedication in the first page, a variation of “to my sister, without whom this adventure wouldn’t be possible”.

His readers loved resting their eyes on a calm passage after a chapter of intense action, loved pretending to enjoy discussing clever philosophical topics, and Jake loved pretending he was an expert in writing about them. It was a mutual self-deception everyone benefited from.

***

After having a quick dinner and listening to Jade being excited about the nature, Jake told her about Centaur Technologies. After scolding him by saying that if they listened to any random guy they met, they would never get anywhere, Jade still agreed to go there. It was their usual scheme: Jade would tell Jake he was wrong, and they would still do whatever he wanted.

Following the map, all three of them reached a narrow, but tall modern-looking building. Its front was branded with large letters CT, which were followed by the name “Centaur Technologies” in a smaller font. When they entered it, there was no one inside, so they rang a bell lying on the desk. While waiting, they peered around at various items and spare parts displayed on the walls, leaving just enough space for a small clock.

After a few minutes a small woman in her early thirties emerged from the backroom, her springy steps making short curly hair bounce.

“Hello there, travellers!” she greeted cheerfully. “My name is Nepeta Leijon, what can I do for you?”

“Hello, Ms. Leijon,” Jade shook her hand politely, and the woman waved at her dismissively.

“Oh please, just call me Nepeta.”

“We have a dirigible that crashed and needs fixing,” Jake shook her hand too, while Jade went closer to the wall to inspect a set of thin transparent tubes.

Nepeta nodded thoughtfully, contemplating their words, and all of a sudden yelled “EQUIUS!! COME DOWN HERE!” without a warning, so loud that Jake had to cover his ears.

They heard heavy footsteps, and saw a muscular man in a black tank top coming down the staircase. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail and, weirdly enough, he was sporting sunglasses despite being indoors. He regarded them calmly and turned to Nepeta.

“No need to yell, Nepeta, you could simply use the pneumatic mail.”

“Oh, but it is so impersonal,” she scoffed, and then turned her attention to Jake and Jade. “These young gentleman and lady have a broken dirigible. Of course, you are the man for the job.”

Equius nodded and beckoned them. “Come with me to the workroom, we will discuss your problem. Your dog may come too if it is unproblematic.”

“He will be on his best behaviour!” Jade beamed – she hated when she was forced to leave Bec out of something. Of course, as soon as Bec reunited with Jade, he turned into a dog suitable to be displayed in the Bureau of _Weights and Measures in the Dog Behaviour section_.

The workroom was a cluttered mess of spare parts, wires, bolts, and screwdrivers covering every available surface. Jake nearly tripped over a huge piece of metal that looked like a human arm, and Bec simply stayed in the doorway, not wanting to harm his paws.

Equius went straight to the desk, navigating through the room easily, and picked a book with a generic picture of a dirigible on its cover.

“What model is your airship?” He asked while flipping through its pages.

“It’s, um, big,” Jake said helplessly and Equius peered at him over his glasses with disapproving eyes. “We sort of don’t know, sorry.”

“Its length is 240 meters,” Jade said, thinking it might help. “With eight gas cells.”

“The total gas volume is 105000 meters,” Jake added, and Equius sighed, opening a certain section in the book.

“Look at these and tell me which construction your vehicle has,” he gave them the book; they couldn’t imagine there were so many different kinds of dirigibles.

Jake looked through a few pages and shook her head. “Actually, I don’t think we will be able to find it here. Our dirigible wasn’t bought off a manufacturer, but constructed by our grandparents themselves. It is one of a kind.”

He couldn’t help but sound proud, as always, when he had a chance to talk about the greatness of their grandparents.

“Oh, is that so?” Equius’s interest perked up visibly. “That’s unusual, but undeniably compelling. I will be glad to help you, and the first thing we will do is start with estimating the scale of the damage and necessary repairs.”

He reached for an instrument kit, but Jade cleared her throat uncomfortably.

“Actually, there is something else we didn’t tell... It crashed in Nocteville. We need you to follow us there, because there is no way we can transport it all the way here.”

Equius frowned. “Nocteville? Isn’t it three travelling days away?”

“Just two actually,” Jade answered.

“And you came all the way here in order to find an engineer?”

“We were told you are the best in the entire region,” Jake said, thinking that a bit of flattery always helped them to get things done faster.

Equius regarded them silently again, and finally said, “CT may not be the most famous or big workshop, in fact, there’s only three employees here, including Nepeta. However, putting any false modesty aside, I do regard myself as the best in my field. I, as the owner of the business, certainly can’t afford leaving for so long, but I can send Mr. Strider who, I can guarantee, will do a high quality job. Although you have to understand that while dirigible repair is in and of itself an expensive job, having to travel and stay in another town is going to cost extra.”

“We know,” Jade assured him. With SkaiaNet inheritance, money was never a problem for them.

Equius nodded and wrote a note on a piece of paper that he rolled up and placed in a small wooden capsule. Then he shoved it into a transparent pipe, like the ones they saw in the entrance hall, and it shot upwards immediately after a press of a button. Jake exchanged amazed looks with Jade, they were thinking about the same thing – how awesome it would be to get a system like this on their dirigible.

They heard soft, almost inaudible footsteps from the staircase leading to the workroom and a new voice said, “Hey. So you came after all.”

When Jake took in familiar spiky blonde hair and triangular shades he couldn’t help but feel a huge grin spreading on his face. Dirk leapt off the staircase and landed on the tiny spot free of the metal parts gracefully.

“Hello, Dirk!” he said loudly, and Bec started wagging his tail furiously in greeting. “I thought I’d never see you again! Why didn’t you tell me you work here?”

“If I did, it would seem I recommend CT only because I’m biased,” he leaned against a table full of metal plates.

“But turns out you _are_ biased, in the end,” Jake laughed.

“Dude, promoting the place is in my job description,” Dirk raised his hands, and then turned to Equius, who regarded them patiently. “One question, Mr. Zahhak. How long do you expect this to take?”

“Approximately three weeks.”

“Can you allow me to leave though? This is a long time and you have a lot of projects.”

“Correct, _I_ have a lot of projects, not you. You are free to go wherever you like, and right now I assign you to this particular project.”

“Make it two weeks, I can manage.”

“Our job can’t be done in haste,” Equius said, with a clear challenging edge to his voice.

“I can manage,” Dirk repeated, and they stared at each other for a while.

“Oh my god, how to you know this guy and why didn’t you tell me?” Jade whispered loudly, while Equius gave Dirk instructions and recommendations about the instruments he should take with him.

“He showed me the way to the market, and like I said, I had no idea we will meet again!” Jake was still grinning like an idiot. This was a mother of all coincidences and pleasant surprises.

While Jade didn’t share the same amount of joy, she still smiled back.

After that Equius sent Dirk upstairs to pack his bags for the trip and forwarded the twins to Nepeta who produced a Contract for them to sign. They paid the first part of the sum in advance – the rest would be determined after the job was done and would depend on the amount of materials needed for the repairs and number of days everything would take. All this time Jake was drumming his fingers on the desk excitedly; the thought of being able to pick up the conversation where they left off made him restless and wanting the trip to start as soon as possible.

Jade was giving him odd looks, but said nothing. Bec was silent too, of course, being a dog, but even he looked at him weird. Or maybe it was just Jake’s wild imagination playing tricks again.

When Dirk joined them in the entrance hall, he was carrying a duffel bag and three massive instrument kits with initials CT engraved on them. He was wearing fingerless gloves, a thick brown coat, and heavy mid-calf boots, which probably was his version of air-tight clothes. Obviously, he wasn’t an experienced traveller.

Jake took one of the kits immediately, because he felt awkward standing empty-handed.

“Goodbye, Dirk, fly safe!” Nepeta hugged him tightly and refused to let go for an entire minute. Equius stood in the doorway, watching the scene with arms crossed on his chest.

“I will be alright, Ms. Leijon,” Dirk’s voice was muffled because his face was still pressed into Nepeta’s shoulder.

“I keep telling you to call me Nepeta, silly!” She released him and held him by the shoulders. “We are going to miss you. Equius, say something!” She glared at the silent man sternly.

“I will be expecting reports of your progress,” Equius said, not moving away from where he was standing in the shadows. “Good luck.”

Dirk nodded at him shortly and said a final goodbye to Nepeta.

When they exited the Centaur Technologies building, Jade looked at Dirk curiously.

“Are they your parents?” She asked.

“Better,” Dirk answered. “They have been my employers and landlords for the past five years.”

“They sure had a hard time departing with you,” she mused.

“That’s because I have never left the workshop for longer than ten hours,” he explained, and Jake took it as an explanation of Dirk’s unusually pale complexion.

There were so many questions Jake wanted to ask, but he blurted out the one he was impatient about the most.

“Why didn’t you tell me you are an engineer?”

“It didn’t come up in a conversation,” Dirk shrugged. “And it didn’t seem important enough to bring up randomly.”

“You have to agree that this unexpected meeting is a lot more exciting than a regular boring one. Now it’s boom! A surprise!” Jade threw her hands up to show how much of a “boom” it was.

“Jade is my twin sister,” Jake suddenly felt the urge to explain, but Dirk only nodded.

“Yes, I figured.”

“Right, I forgot, you are mister Deduction, the Duke of Knowing Everything Before It’s Said,” Jake said, but with good-natured humour.

“It was too easy to even be called a deduction. You look absolutely identical.”

“Um, excuse me, offense taken,” Jade said mockingly. “We are not, my hair is so much better!”

Jake laughed at the way she whipped her hair in a ridiculously exaggerated way, but the laughter stopped once the ends hit his mouth and he had to split them out, pushing Jade away. Dirk hummed politely.

When they reached the hot air balloon that was tied securely to the stakes driven into the ground, Jake and Jade climbed inside, made room for Dirk’s things inside the basket, and placed his kits under the bench. Meanwhile Dirk examined the balloon and asked with clear curiosity:

“Is that a modified model M-61A with substituted burners? And you used a quadruple lap seam, nice,” he nodded appraisingly.

Jake leaned over the edge of the basket. “Not us, our grandparents. But I’m glad you like it. Your knowledge of these things is impressive, I must say.”

“That’s what one is expected to know when working at Centaur Technologies.”

Jake imagined it – living in a workshop, seeing hundreds of customers from all over the world coming in and telling their stories – and felt a little bit jealous.

“You must’ve flown a ton of balloons and dirigibles!”

“No, actually, this is my first flight.”

“No way!!” Jade gasped and leaned over the basket next to Jake, looking at Dirk with wide eyes. He could relate to her; at the time when air travel was one of the most popular forms of transportation, a person who has never tried it was unheard of. “How come?”

“Just didn’t have a reason to go anywhere,” Dirk shrugged.

“But I thought you said you came to Avis from another town?” Jake asked.

“By train, yes.”

Jake felt pity for everybody who hasn’t experienced the joy of flight before. Nobody deserved to be left out of this, the amazing feeling of liberation when wind is flapping in your hair and pulling at your clothes, when your eyes water, but you can’t stop looking at the amazing colourful sky and cities that become tiny and insignificant, and you can’t stop smiling because you feel like every molecule of the air you inhale cleans you from inside like nothing else can. And then you put your hand on the rudder wheel of the dirigible, or on a sail of the balloon and feel this giant machine become your second body and listen to the ramble of the engines or fire roaring in the burners, and it listens back, reacting to your movements as you guide it through the sky towards the unknown and exciting things.

Jake couldn’t remember his very first flight, he was just a baby back then, but he remembered spending his entire childhood with Jade and their grandparents, who taught them how to fly, and being excited every time they saw Grandpa carrying a gas tank, which meant they are going to be up in the air again. Those were fond memories he kept secure, wrapped in a blanket of other nice thoughts about his family, Jade, Bec, and their adventures in the corner of his mind.

Jake smiled at the memories; and his smile grew even bigger when he realized what he was about to do.

“I can’t believe I have the honours of introducing you to your first flight! Ah, this is going to be so thrilling, you are going to love it, I promise!”

He clapped his hands and went to check if everything was ready for the take-off, while Jade rolled her eyes and said, “Jake was born with a balloon stuck in his ass. Ask him about how he learnt to operate a dirigible, he has twenty-four hours worth of stories.”

“I will certainly do that,” Dirk answered seriously, but it could mean nothing; after all, every time he talked he did it in a heavy serious tone, making all his words sound significant.

Jake and Dirk stood outside, holding the basket so that it wouldn’t tilt, while Jade turned the burners on, inflating the envelope with hot air. Jade ordered Bec to jump inside, which he reluctantly did, just as the balloon started rising up slowly. The boys climbed inside too, and all four passengers took a seat in each of the corners of the basket.

Dirk flung one arm over the side and looked outside; Jake was watching him intently, because he would love seeing the expression of a person who was flying for the first time, but Dirk’s face stayed neutrally calm.

Well, this was about to change as soon as they rise over the forest, Jake thought to himself.

And he was right; after they accumulated the first three kilometres of height Dirk cleaved to the edge of the basket, unable to look away from Avis that now looked like a 3D model of its map.

Jake pushed his glasses over his head and replaced them with goggles.

“Amazing, isn’t it,” he moved to sit next to Dirk and gave him binoculars. “Look, here is your workshop, and here is the market!”

He pointed at the only two places he recognised from his short trip to Avis, but Dirk, who was a lot more familiar with the city, pressed the binoculars directly to his shades and looked over the city. Jake figured that he won’t see any vivid emotions from Dirk, no whooping and jumping around shaking the basket like he did as a child, when Grandma had to catch him because she was afraid he’d fall down; but he noticed the corners of his mouth curling up in a small smile, which Jake counted as a win.

“Why do you wear these anyway?” Jake asked, pointing at triangular shades.

Dirk made a vague gesture.

“They are my thing, see,” he tapped them. “To maintain recognition. Everyone in Avis knows ‘that triangular guy who works for CT enginery.’ It gives CT extra visibility, I serve as a sort of advertisement.”

“Looks like you really are into promotion,” Jake laughed. “What do you do, walk around the city picking out random guys and converting them into clients?”

“No, I usually wait for guys to hit me with something, that’s how I assess their worth,” Dirk deadpanned, and Jake grinned at him, recognizing it as his weird sense of humour.

“You seem to like your job a lot,” Jade stopped flipping through her sketchbooks to join their conversation.

“Of course, it’s the best,” Dirk said, lifting the binoculars up again. “Although I have to admit, being able to travel must be incredible too.”

“I know!” Jake exclaimed in excitement and clapped his hands. “Travelling is simply the most marvelous thing there is, wait till you see the Nocteville lake and its tranquil waters illuminated by tangerine eventide, and oh, the Plum Woods forest we live next to is amazing, you’ve got to see it at night, the moon makes the leaves into pure silver, and the fireflies are the shining gemstones embellishing the fine frill of the bushes that–”

“Oops, here we go again...” Jade drawled, busying herself with adjusting the course by moving the sails.

“What, don’t act like you don’t feel the same!” Jake shook a finger at her. Jade liked to mock his spontaneous wordy outbursts, but he knew she didn’t really mean it. He did the same with mocking her nerdy obsession with flora sometimes, it was simply something siblings did.

“So what do you two do for a living?” Dirk asked without looking away from the binoculars.

“I am a botanist,” Jade said. “Well, I try to be one by writing research papers about botanical discoveries.”

“I am glad to meet a real scientist,” Dirk said, and Jade laughed bashfully.

“Oh, I am only nineteen, too young to even be _considered_ for a position in the Science Centre. The only one who’s real here is Jake, a real writer.”

“Come off it, Jade, you know I’m nothing like the classics.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’ve got four novels published!”

Jake waved a hand at her; when she talked like that it sounded great, as if he had a great talent loved by all, but in reality it was just dumb luck.

“Is modesty a family trait?” Dirk asked, finally turned to face the twins, and they both smiled at each other awkwardly, not knowing how to reply. Thankfully, Dirk changed the topic.

“What kind of stories do you write?” He asked.

“About astounding adventures of Jade and myself,” – Bec raised his head – “and Becquerel, of course. About everything we see while we travel.”

“Do you have it on board? I’d like to read something.”

After a moment of hesitation Jake pulled the third volume of _Wondrous Adventures of Harley and English_ out of the bag.

“Um, yes, sure. But it’s not my finest work, the fourth volume is the best in the whole series, I just don’t have it on me...” He trailed off and, without further ado, shoved the book into Dirk’s hands before he could change his mind.

Jake was nervous and it was nonsensical; he had four published books that everyone could read freely if they wanted, but he has never actually had a person reading his writing in front of him. Except for Jade; but Jade was there and went through everything with him, and while her opinion was definitely valued, he didn’t fear it. What he did fear was open criticism coming from outsiders. While Jade always told him that people loved his books, he was thankful he has never spotted a person with _Wondrous Adventures_ in their hands.

All of these thoughts rushed in his mind while Dirk was opening the book; in order not to torment himself, Jake sat down on the floor to pet Bec and help Jade with choosing better synonyms for the words to describe her plants when she was stuck. Occasionally he glanced back at Dirk to try and figure out what he was thinking, but his face was unreadable, and Jake could only hope that it’s a good thing.

After an hour Dirk flipped the last page of the book, put it aside, and stretched.

“You have a very distinctive writing style,” he said. “Fits right into my area of interests.”

Jake scratched the back of his head, suddenly shy. “Thank you! Like I said, it’s not my best work, it has a ton of flaws, I would certainly rewrite some bits if I had the opportunity... But... Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy it.”

“According to this gospel, you lead a very exciting life,” Dirk said. “Did all of this really happen to you?”

“Indeed.”

“You really jumped over a river swarming with alligators while holding a baby and shooting at the panther chasing after you?”

Jake couldn’t help but laugh at this. “Well, no, there were no alligators or panthers, and I was holding a rucksack with snacks, not a baby... I might have exaggerated several things, you know, for artistic reasons...”

“Does it mean Jade didn’t really fight ten angry bears with just an egg whisk and a pogostick?”

Jade giggled.

“Nope, sorry. We met a bear, but it was peaceful, there was no need to fight,” she looked at Jake fondly. “Jake always makes me into more of a reckless heroine than I really am. In reality we’re just peaceful people with simple interests.”

“You see,” Jake explained, “people don’t like to read about peaceful encounters with wild animals, they want action heroes, people who come in and save the day, and always come off clear without a scratch. But if you remove all the action tinsel, all the rest is absolute indubitable truth, like the beehive story – we couldn’t recognize our own faces for a week.”

“Or that one time we fell into old hunters’ trap and Bec had to rescue us!” Jade stroked the dog’s head. “I don’t know how we would be able to survive without him.”

“Exciting,” Dirk commented shortly, and they fell into silence after that, each minding their own business.

Jake and Jade were occupied with what they usually did to pass the time while travelling – reading and writing. Of course, when they were on the dirigible, they did other things too, like playing board games and card games, sometimes sewing, or drawing, or doing other valuable things – but they didn’t pack any of that in order not to overload the balloon. Jake offered to lend one of his other books to Dirk, but he refused, and instead pulled a weird mechanism out of his bag and started tinkering with it. Soon Jake found himself staring at the way Dirk’s hands moved steadily over the intricate details, it was soothing, like looking at a waterfall or a bonfire.

Jake’s thoughts rushed towards their house waiting for them, and the nerves took the best of him again, because of course making Dirk stay in a hostel in the town was preposterous, he was going to take one of the guest rooms, and it made him feel uneasy. Jade and Jake have never shared the house with anyone, even the Midnight Crew – they always left whenever the twins came home. Their house was a sanctuary, secure bubble uniting Jake, Jade, their grandparents, and Bec, and inviting Dirk was like poking holes in this bubble. He had no idea how to handle an outsider being in their shared space.

Jake sighed and fidgeted with the ends of his green scarf.

Being a host was so stressful.

It was evening already, and before the sun set they made a pit stop in a village nearby, getting the necessary provisions.

After that they covered the basket of the balloon with tent material, so that the wind and occasional raindrops wouldn’t disturb their sleep – the material wad covering only half of the basket, leaving the open space to the navigator, who made sure their route was correct. Jake and Jade shared these duties, changing shifts every three hours. Sleeping bags provided needed warmth, and Bec, with his high body temperature, worked as a fireplace.

Of course, Dirk suggested he took a shift as well, but Jake was set on sticking to the rules of excellent hosting, which clearly stated: never allow a guest to do anything. Jake, Jade, and Bec might have never had any guests, but they’ve read the etiquette manuals a hundred times.

Their next full day of flight went pretty much the same, with talking, looking at landscapes and clouds, reading, and drawing. Even though Jake wasn’t a good artist (unlike Jade), sometimes he drew illustrations for his books, he thought it made them more personal.

“You have a great stamina,” Dirk commented once after observing them during the day. “Most people I know aren’t able to sit still and do pointless things for so long.”

He was right, the balloon limited their abilities to do something, and although they travelled by the dirigible most of the time, they were still used to entering a sort of hibernation when being on the balloon.

“You can,” Jake pointed out, because the only person in their company that couldn’t hold still for a long period of time was Bec (who wasn’t even a person).

“I’m used to lack of movement. Sometimes we have projects that require sitting in the workshop for days and not being distracted by anything.”

“I know the feeling,” Jade said. “Some may think that my research is all about prancing in the forest, but in actuality I have to concentrate on many things, watch certain developments unfold before my very eyes.”

The rest of their second night in the air passed with longing colouring Jake’s thoughts, as it usually did whenever it was time to come home – whether it was after two days or two months of travelling. The longest period of absence from home was six months, when Jade tried to get a job in Sandford Science Centre three years ago and ended up being offered an unpaid internship in the least significant position they had. Jake stayed with her, leaving his sister was out of question, but he had nothing to occupy his free time but feeling homesick. He was secretly glad (and felt extremely guilty because of it) when he heard that the SSC told Jade that she was too young and inexperienced and should “come back in twenty years or so.” It was then that he realized that their home was simply the best place on Earth.

Among other significant things that happened during that period was Jake picking up writing. He dated a girl – out of boredom more than anything else, even though she was nice – whose friend’s mother was a writer and was generous enough to explain him how publishing worked and review his first draft.

Long story short, their relationship fell apart, but the writing advice Mrs. Lalonde gave him stayed forever.

***

They arrived home early in the morning, when the sun has just risen. Their balloon was a beautiful spot of vivid green shining bright against the pale yellow sky like a second green sun.

Bec was the first one to jump out of the balloon even before they had a chance to land properly, finally stretching his paws and diving straight into the lake, greeting them all with splashes of cold water.

The dirigible was right where they left it, looking weak and lonely like no other inanimate object could; it deflated significantly, making it obvious that more than one gas tank was damaged. Dirk’s gaze was locked to it immediately and he inhaled sharply.

“Is that... SkaiaNet logo?”

“Yes,” Jake confirmed, and Dirk drew nearer, bags forgotten.

“You haven’t said that your grandparents worked for SkaiaNet.”

“We did say that were engineers,” Jade shrugged.

“Yes, but not _SkaiaNet_.”

“Does it change anything?” Jake was concerned. What if he had trouble working with SkaiaNet technologies?

“Not at all,” Dirk said. “I haven’t had a chance to see SkaiaNet technology with my own eyes yet, that’s all. I’m quite a fan of June and Joss Harleys’ work, to be candid, and...”

He paused, looking at Jade.

“You still haven’t told me your surname.”

“I am a Harley,” Jade confessed, smiling. “Joss and June were our grandparents, I guess we forgot to mention it.”

Dirk clasped his hands together. “I guess you did.”

He offered to start fixing it straight away, but Jade cut him off categorically and said that she was having none of this nonsense at five in the morning and they all were going to have breakfast first before even thinking about anything work-related.

“You suggested it, you are doing it,” Jake told her and grabbed the bags. After the burners were turned off and the valve was opened, the hot air started escaping the balloon’s envelope, and it was lowering rather quickly. “Also you’ll need to pack the envelope after it’s done, please.”

“You have a pair of hands perfectly capable of packing it yourself,” Jade retorted.

“Sorry, sister dear, I will be busy showing Mr. Strider to his room. A very important job which, as you can imagine, I can’t allow myself to be distracted from.”

“Ri-i-ight,” Jade uttered, unimpressed, and escaped in the kitchen, Bec trailing after her. A moment later he heard a sound of clattering pans and pots.

“I hope you don’t mind using you as a cover to get out of all the chores,” Jake said, turning to Dirk. “I don’t wish you to think of me as an inconsiderate buffoon, but... If you had a sibling you would understand,” he laughed a little to break the awkwardness he felt about showing their house.

Dirk hummed indefinitely.

“Would you like a grand tour? To take up time so that I don’t have to go back down there...”

Jake really hoped he sounded like a confident host, and not like an oafish boy who was about to introduce a new friend to his parents.

Dirk didn’t seem to be put off by any strangeness; he nodded with a strictly neutral expression, which, Jake realized, was kind of his default setting. They went upstairs on the third floor, following an old oak staircase, and Jake opened a heavy wooden door to one of the rooms.

“This is one of our guest rooms,” he said, walking to the window and opening green silk curtains embroidered with golden threads. The room has been untouched since their grandparents died, and even though the twins kept it clean, like everything else in the house, it still had this pristine, blank feeling to it, without anyone’s personality to fill in. “The whole floor is actually the guest floor, our great-grandparents loved having people around for various hijinks, so they had the constructors build many rooms for their friends. We don’t use them like this anymore, but... Yes.”

He trailed off, not knowing what else to say, and kicked a leg of the bed slightly. Dirk stood with his hands shoved in his pockets, looking around.

“Thank you,” he said and strolled to the window. It had a nice view of the lake ruined by the miserable sight of the dirigible.

“You’re most certainly welcome.”

The room was much smaller than Jake’s or Jade’s, with just enough space for a bed, two cupboards, an armchair, and a bedside table, but their grandparents put a lot of love in it, like with everything they did. The light green wallpaper with floral pattern matched the curtains and the linen, and the furniture was old, but still durable and most likely unbreakable. Dirk dropped the duffel bag near the bed.

“Let’s go see the rest,” Jake said and led his guest to the second floor, where his and Jade’s rooms were, as well as the game room with two pool tables. The living room was filled with various souvenirs from their adventures, as well as old things that used to belong to Grandma and Grandpa, the significance of which they took to their graves. There was little to nothing to remind them of their parents, just their pictures and some personal belongings that weren’t sold with their old house. It was disappointing, the twins barely remembered them.

To lighten the mood he told Dirk a couple of stories about their adventures and the trophies they got out of them, like polished rocks from the ocean side, or worn coins – not old enough to be in a museum, but proudly displayed in a glass case.

The second floor had a library with a huge wooden desk they never used, preferring breathing fresh air to sitting inside in solemn solitude. This tour reminded Jake just how much unused space they had and never knew how to put to good use, especially seeing how often they were away from home.

Finally, they passed through the kitchen that smelled like eggs, toast, and bacon now, and went straight to the patio connected to the kitchen. Jake grabbed plates and silverware along the way, because, after all, he was a good brother and had to help his sister with her chores.

Dirk just kept his eyes peeled on the distant form of the dirigible, tapping his fingers lightly, probably trying to estimate the amount of work. When Jake sat down across of him, he said, a little belated:

“You have a very impressive house, very huge.”

“Oh yes, our grandparents did love everything to be grandiose.”

“As expected from SkaiaNet founders. I was always wondering why they’ve never expanded; refusing to enter mass production of machinery was such a waste of potential.”

“We have no idea why,” Jade said, filling their plates with fried eggs and bacon. She sat down, putting her feet on Bec who was lying under the table. “We were too small the last time we saw them, and back then it didn’t occur to us to ask. As far as I remember it had something to do with not wanting their technologies to end up in wrong hands?”

“Yes, I remember Grandma telling about their main competitor – she had a weird name, something like Condemner or Condenser?” Jake glanced at his sister briefly. “They really didn’t like her. Perhaps she was one of the reasons.”

“Condenser?” Dirk repeated thoughtfully. “Is she an engineer too? I’ve never heard of anyone like that.”

“I must’ve gotten the name wrong,” Jake shrugged.

“And your parents, did they work for SkaiaNet too?”

“Kind of,” Jade said. “Grandpa told us that Dad used to work with them, but then he met Mom and they moved away long before we were born. Great love, all that jazz,” she hummed sadly. “Should’ve stayed here, would have been safer this way...”

“What about your family, Dirk? Where do your parents live?” Jake asked, steering the conversation away from the deaths, which was an unsuitable breakfast conversation topic.

“Mother isn’t around due to being six feet under,” Dirk said flatly, and stuck a fork into the eggs with more force than needed. “And who knows where our father is.”

Oh shoot, his steering stunt didn’t work.

“Sorry,” Jade said sympathetically, and Jake echoed, “Our?”

“Mine and my brothers’,” Dirk winced, barely noticeable, and Jake almost gaped in surprise, because surely such important information as having brothers would be brought up somehow over the course of their journey? But maybe it was a sensitive topic, and they were dead too, that’s why Jake decided to do the gentlemanly thing and didn’t press the matter for now. Jade seemed to have exact same thoughts, and they spend the rest of the breakfast talking about random things, exchanging bits of information about themselves (as it turned out, Dirk was two whole years older than them), a friendly conversation ending up being surprisingly easy.

When Dirk asked why they didn’t just fix the dirigible themselves, having the deepest secrets of SkaiaNet technologies available, Jake and Jade had to confess that they knew next to nothing about whatever secrets SkaiaNet had. Perhaps, June and Joss thought their grandkids were too young to be taught engineering, and child minds of Jake and Jade were far too interested in things less boring than overcomplicated blueprints, so they’ve never asked them to.

Jake wondered how on Earth Jade and Dirk managed to stay awake and hold a conversation like this: he was so unused to waking up before ten in the morning, he couldn’t suppress a yawn every minute.

After all four stomachs were stuffed with eggs, bacon and toast, Jade and Bec took the coach on the patio, Dirk went to inspect the damage done to the dirigible and Jake sprawled on the ground not far away from them, staring at the sky and basking in rays of sunlight that grew hotter with every passing minute.

He woke up from a nap he didn’t intend to take when he heard Dirk talking to Jade and saying that he had to go to the city and buy some materials because he had to do more serious repairs than he expected. Words like “irremediable destruction” and “replacing twenty-four percent of the framework” graced his half-asleep mind, and his heart clenched again upon remembering how _sick_ their dirigible looked.

Dirk worked till complete darkness, when even the flashlight didn’t help him to see (secretly Jake thought that it was his ridiculous shades that didn’t let him see properly, but said nothing). Earlier he refused to have dinner with Jade and Jake, saying that he couldn’t be distracted from the tricky work he was doing, grabbed the welding machine, and didn’t come out of the dirigible until midnight.

In the next four days they talked very little to each other, the only time their paths crossed was during breakfast, which Jade threatened she would shove into Dirk forcefully if he refused to eat one more time. The twins were keeping themselves busy during this time too, with usual things they did while at home, like cleaning the house, sorting out the library, planning their next trip, and working on their respective writing.

Right now Jake was hanging out on the patio couch (free of Jade, who went to the forest with Bec to sketch her beloved plants, muttering something about SSC under her breath) with his journals and sometimes glancing at Dirk, whose work was too intriguing to ignore – the way he effortlessly moved up and down the ropes that were covering the dirigible, and how one moment could be holding something like a small sewing machine and next moment change it to giant pliers, like it was second nature to him. Then again, it most likely was. Jake really wished they had time to talk more, from what little conversations they had Jake could gather that he was a rather enthralling person.

Perhaps he really could become their first real friend.

Jake opened the page he started writing while in Avis and looked at the crossed out lines of the draft.

_“I met a guy in Avis, his name was Dirk, he was very interesting. I think we could’ve become friends.”_

He smiled to himself, thinking about how unexpected everything turned out, and started writing a new passage:

_“Life loves a person it is given to, and the pleasant twists and turns of destiny is the best gift life has to offer to its beloved handler. And if losing a sight of a gentleman whose much appreciated company left one regretting an unseized opportunity of forming a possible bond of solidarity, and meeting him again under most fortuitous of circumstances doesn’t prove it, the author of this book humbly washed his hands of the affair of convincing his gracious readers.”_

He stared at the lines written in compact round handwriting in satisfaction. Yes, this could go straight to the book, the readers ought to love reading little pleasant things like this before diving into another adventure.

Suddenly Dirk’s voice said very closely, “Hey.”

Jake started, dropping the pen, and lifted his gaze to see Dirk leaning over the decorative fence surrounding the patio.

“Hello!” Jake tried to use his “let’s be friends” tone, but it didn’t turn out much different from his usual one.

“Do you have any black paint?”

“Um, yes, sure, one moment please!” Jake went to the supply closet quickly and brought two buckets of paint which he handed to Dirk. He walked towards the dirigible and Jake trailed after him. “What do you need it for?”

“To repaint the logo,” he pointed at the fabric spread on the ground, where the SkaiaNet picture was. “I had to change some fabric while repairing the framework, and now it has some blank patches overlapping the picture.”

“Wow, you are quick,” Jake said, feeling awestruck. It was incredible to see the dirigible regaining its shape.

“Of course,” Dirk sounded a little proud. “Mr. Zahhak wouldn’t have taken me in if I wasn’t.”

“Do you need any help?”

Dirk set the bucket and brushes on old newspapers in order not to stain the fabric. “Nah, I am capable of doing everything myself.”

“Yes, I know, I was just asking whether you need a hand. I would be happy to assist. I’m an artist, kind of.”

He shook his head. “It is a job you are paying me to do, I can’t accept your help, Jake.”

Jake cringed – he hated talking about money with people Jade and he were paying, it was an extremely awkward topic that he avoided at all costs. Besides, Dirk’s reasoning was extremely silly.

“You will perform a heroic act of saving me from death of boredom if you let me to do _anything_ , please,” he lied and Dirk let out a short laugh.

“Fine, you can hold this for me,” he gave Jake a smaller brush. “And hand it to me when I’ll need to paint the details. And perhaps we’ll set it up later together. I assume you will have no problem climbing the ropes?”

“You know how many lianas I had to climb whilst escaping various fictional dangerous beasts,” Jake smiled wickedly and settled on the ground, inhaling the chemical scent of the paint. “Speaking of fiction, I promised to lend you the rest of the series, I never forget my promises. Maybe after lunch?”

“I don’t have time to spare right now, but I’ll be sure to read them later. Libraries in Avis must have them.”

Jake hummed. “Or I can send them to you, as a thank you gift.”

“A tantalizing offer. Although the paycheck will be big enough of a thank you.”

Jake frowned. Again with the money talk.

He uttered a vague “Mmm” in response and changed the subject, his gaze following careful strokes of wide brush in Dirk’s hand. “How are you even seeing through these shades?”

“I can see perfectly well, don’t worry.”

“But everything must be so dark...”

“Doesn’t seem to affect my work at the slightest,” he said calmly. “If you are worried about the results, I should say that I have already finished fixing the framework.”

“That’s not why I asked– wait, you finished the framework?” Jake gaped. “In five days?!”

Dirk shrugged a little. “It’s less complicated than it looks. After all, I was only doing the repairs, not building everything from scratch. Pass me the brush, please.”

He began painting thin lines of the spirograph.

“But it _is_ complicated! And you did it all by yourself, it is incredibly impressive,” Jake couldn’t wrap his head around something this big being done in such a short amount of time. “I have no idea what we’d be doing without you.”

“Going to Zahhak’s shitty workshop,” Dirk muttered.

Jake tilted his head. “Mind if I ask why you were so against us going there?”

Dirk was focused on painting for a while and finally said, “Horace Zahhak is Equius’s father, and while his skills are on point, his head is full of rotten pumpkin mush, that’s all there is to say on the matter. In any case, the real work here is still untouched,” he patted the fabric of the envelope.

“And that is?...”

“The engines and the controls. The engines malfunctioning were the reason it went down in the first place, launching a chain reaction and bursting the gas cells, and the controls were busted when it crashed into the ground. As admirable as the work of Mr. and Mrs. Harley is, these technologies are extremely outdated and could be upgraded to make a much more efficient aircraft. I could change the engines completely to improve the speed and usage of fuel,” he finally turned to face Jake, awaiting his response.

“Oh, um,” Jake was at loss of words. Any other person would jump at the proposition immediately, but in their case... Those engines were the hearts that made the dirigible go – the hearts that once belonged to their grandparents. He couldn’t bring himself to rip them out to put new ones in, no matter how much better. “No, thank you. If you fix the engines it will be just peachy. Besides, we are not running away from anybody, we don’t really need to be speedier.”

He laughed nervously, hoping his answer didn’t offend Dirk, but all he did was shrug again.

“Suit yourself.”

Jake watched him paint some more and leaned his head against the warm rough surface of the dirigible. “How long do you think the rest will take?”

“Seven to eight days, I estimate,” he said. “Are you in a hurry?”

“No-no-no, we are not on schedule!” Jake paused, a vague plan slowly forming in his mind. “Don’t you think you deserve a break?”

“I’ll have it once I finish my work here. A nice two-day break while I’m travelling back to Avis.”

“No, I mean right now! Maybe even today, we’ve got plenty of time till the sun sets; we could go somewhere, like in the town,” he fidgeted, unsure if he was doing the right thing with this. “There’s not much to see, but it will be enjoyable anyway, we’ll invite Jade and Bec too!”

“I can’t afford staying away from work for so long,” Dirk sounded hesitant.

“Oh, come on, one evening is not long at all! Besides, you’ve just finished one part of the job, and tomorrow you’ll start a new one, with fresh thoughts and all,” Jake added.

“I suppose this makes sense...” He said slowly.

“It will be fun, I promise,” Jake said despite having no idea about what “fun” things they could do, and stared at Dirk expectantly. They had a staring contest for a while – or maybe not, Jake couldn’t see Dirk’s eyes behind those blasted shades – until finally he shook his head and said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fine, let’s finish painting and go see the town.”

“Booyeah!” Jake yelped victoriously, throwing one hand in the air. “That’s great, I’m going to tell Jade!”

He spotted her quickly in the forest – Bec was easy to see, standing next to her, as usual, like a white dog-shaped shadow. Jade waved at Jake, and he jogged closer.

“Hi, Jade! So, I was just helping Dirk out...”

“Really?” She smirked. “I hope you didn’t stick your hands into the engine, I’d hate to crash simply because you were bored again.”

“Nothing like that, don’t worry. Actually, I just held a brush.”

“Wow, Jake, everything would come crashing down without your incredible input,” Jade laughed, rolling up her journal.

“ _Anyway_ , we were talking, and I invited him to go and see the town,” Jake continued. “Dress up, we are leaving soon.”

Jade’s eyebrows rose slowly. “Whoa, hold your horses. _You_ invited him?”

“Uh, yes?” Jake looked at her warily, failing to pinpoint the reason for her reaction.

Her smile grew broader.

“That’s great!” She exclaimed.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief – it seemed he was doing the right thing after all. “So, where would you like to go first? The Memorial Park maybe?”

“Actually... I don’t think I’ll go,” she said slowly.

“What, why?!” Jake’s smile faltered. He never went anywhere without Jade, and his brilliant idea of having a new friend included her, of course.

“I’ve got, um... things to do.”

“What things?” Jake asked with suspicion.

“Very _important_ science-y things,” Jade deadpanned, shaking the journal. “I will be oh so busy, go have fun without me.”

“But–”

“No buts!” She jabbed a finger in his chest. “Next time, okay?”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you and Bec out of anything...”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about me, brother dear, I won’t perish here. Go already.”

***

While Jake and Dirk were walking towards the centre of the town, through the vast fields filled with sweet scent of blooming flowers, to reach the town and its narrow paved streets, little shops, and houses in assorted styles, Jake decided to start off with something he knew best: talking about the history of the town and anecdotes he knew about it. Storytelling was his zone, and he dominated it with a scarlet flag hoisted on a mountain top. Even though Jake was still sour because of Jade’s absence, to his surprise, the feeling passed soon; Dirk was an attentive listener, commenting and asking questions in the right places. Jake’s mouth was dry after a while, but he wanted to talk more and more – telling about Nocteville slowly flowed into sharing experiences of other places. Since Dirk only ever knew Avis, Jake was doing most of the sharing, with Dirk inserting occasional snippets of information he learnt from newspapers, books, or overheard conversations with the customers.

Finally, after walking so much even Jake’s trained legs began to give in, they stopped to sit and rest near Jade’s favourite place – the small pond with an arching stone bridge.

Jake was in the middle of telling another story about the troubles Bec gave him, when he stopped abruptly, suddenly realizing the wings of storytelling got him carried away, and he monopolized the conversation.

He wanted to smack his forehead, but instead turned to Dirk and smiled apologetically. “I’ve been talking for too long. Maybe you’d like to tell something?”

“Listening to you is an enjoyable pastime,” he answered. “Besides, it’s your town, I don’t have much to say on the matter.”

“Still, it’s not fair that I was only talking about Jade and myself; we need to split the conversation evenly in two parts,” Jake made a cutting motion. “After all, I know so little about you, it’s unfair. For example, I will ask a question and you’ll answer it, then you’ll ask me a question, et cetera. This way we’ll be equal.”

“Sure, why not,” Dirk shrugged.

“Okey-doke, I’m going first! Where you were born?”

“In Torpos,” Dirk answered and Jake racked his brains trying to remember the name.

“Never heard of it,” he said finally. “What region is it in?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s not even a town, more like a small village. I think only ten families lived there. We moved away as soon as we could, of course. How personal can the questions be?”

“Try me,” Jake grinned, feeling slightly nervous.

Dirk leaned towards him, lowering his voice. “What was the real reason for the Harleys’ deaths? I’ve heard so many theories, and frankly, I was always curious to know the truth.”

Jake sighed and rubbed his eyes under the glasses. This wasn’t the new-friend kind of question he expected.

“No reason, just a train wreck.”

He didn’t know what else to say, the memories were still raw: of awaiting their grandparents to arrive back from a business trip, of having a mailman give them a letter framed in black and a note from the head of the train company asking them what they will do with the bodies, of finding the Harleys’ will saying in case of their death SkaiaNet should be dismantled and the profits should go to Jake and Jade, of asking the townsfolk to help the two ten-year-olds with organizing the funeral, of hugging Jade and Bec and swearing to never ever let them go…

It was weird, they were people of sky and air, they’ve never took a train before – as if that train wreck was some kind of damned, twisted destiny.

“And that’s it?”

“I don’t know what else you expected there to be,” Jake crossed his arms.

“I heard that– You know what, nevermind.”

Jake titled his head – he couldn’t suppress the curiosity. “What did you hear?”

“That they were assassinated by their arch enemy.”

Jake threw his head back and laughed humourlessly. “Conspiracy theorists must be out of new material on government to start imagining such a thing.”

“SkaiaNet is rather popular in engineering community,” the corners of Dirk’s mouth lifted as if he found the word funny, “perhaps they were trying to make sense of the founders’ demise.”

“In this case, they were doomed to fail from the very beginning. You can’t make sense of death, it is the least sensible thing to ever exist,” Jake realized he sounded snappy and offended, even though he didn’t have a reason to. “But it’s good to know the memories of them are still alive somewhere besides this town.”

“Of course they are, like every genius, the Harley name will carry on existing through the centuries. Speaking of which, why aren’t you a Harley?”

Jake scowled – this was another one of his least favourite topics.

“Our parents decided to get divorced and split Jade and me, so when I was born, Mom gave me her surname.”

“Does it mean you and Jade spent your childhood apart?”

“Hah, no, nothing can separate us...”

Jake thought about the story they only heard from their grandparents, being too young to remember, about how a mugger attacked their parents on their way from the divorce court, and killed them, just to get their wallets – as if simple people like them, a tailor and a mechanic, were expected to carry around a lot of cash. It was as if the distorted fate acted up again.

“Grandma and Grandpa took us into custody early on,” he added. “Actually, they and Bec acted as our real parents.”

“Bec?” Dirk echoed.

“Figuratively speaking, of course. But he was kind of our guardian, always looked after us when we were kids, protected us since forever. Mostly Jade, of course, he loved her more than anyone. She even chose a new name for him when she was a kid, that’s how Halley became Becquerel, she found a name in some book and thought it sounded neat,” Jake smiled a little. “But I am talking about myself again. What’s your family story?”

“It happened so long ago, it barely matters anymore. My younger brother and I were brought up by our older brother. He wasn’t a good parent substitute, I think even your dog was a better parental figure than he, but like I said, it doesn’t matter, I am an independent adult now.”

Jake nodded in sympathy.

“Anyway, good to know we have something in common,” Dirk continued. “Even if it’s stories that can put any melodrama to shame.”

“I think the society that encourages families to stay apart is bound to have very little happy family stories,” Jake answered.

“Agree to disagree, I am glad this is the way it is. It allowed me to leave my family without anybody looking weirdly at me.”

“Are your brothers that bad?”

“They are not _bad_ , they are just... It’s hard to explain. We didn’t get along. Or, I didn’t get along with them and they didn’t care,” he made a vague gesture. “But enough of that crap. Is it my turn to ask a question yet? How many cities have you been to?”

Jake didn’t even realize how tense his body was until now that the topic was changed and he could relax. “Hmm, let me think... Sixty or seventy. I know it’s not a lot compared to how many there are in the world, but in our defence, we’ve visited the same cities a ton of times. What about you, since you are not a travelling man, do you at least have a dream of going somewhere?”

“Not really,” Dirk mused, and Jake couldn’t help but give him a disapproving look, so he added, “But I think it would be nice to visit Crystal Falls, judging by the pictures I keep seeing, it’s a beautiful place. What made you want to become a writer?”

“Grandma used to tell me legends and stories, and she left me her journals... I was inspired reading them and wanted to continue her legacy,” he looked around searching for an idea for a next question and his gaze fell on a sign that said _Dolly’s Music Bar_. “Do you play any musical instruments?”

Dirk tsk’ed. “Touchy subject, English. Nope, I wasn’t born with a music gene, but I have turntables back home– I mean in the CT workshop, meaning I _can_ produce music when the need occurs. You?”

“Grandpa tried to teach us guitar, but the only one who learned anything was Jade,” Jake said. Jade was talented in so many ways. “By the way, why is CT named like this? I can understand the Technologies part, it’s the Centaur part that’s confusing.”

“Take it up with the Zahhaks, they are obsessed with anything horse-related,” Dirk didn’t ask anything after that, and Jake desperately hoped it wasn’t because he was bored.

Jake racked his brains, trying to come up with a solution and remembering what Grandpa did when he had friends over; his gaze fell at the Music Bar again. That’s right, they were always gathering in bars, drinking and discussing politics and other things Jade and he never understood!

“How do you feel about, uh, going there? Having a drink?” Jake pointed at the Music Bar.

“Alright,” Dirk said. “Although, perhaps you could choose another location? I don’t drink alcoholic beverages.”

“Me neither!” Jake exclaimed quickly, suddenly flustered.

It was a lie. Were friends allowed to tell each other lies? Probably not.

“Well, sometimes I do... But they serve all kinds of beverages, for all tastes, and we can just listen to singers, they have live music there, it’s really good, it’s Jade’s and my favourite place...”

“Okay then,” Dirk said after the ramble trailed off, and added after a short pause. “I’ve never been to a concert before.”

Dolly’s Music Bar catered all needs of the public and was the most popular bar in Nocteville – when Jake and Dirk entered, it was already full of people despite the early evening. Promises of live music every day certainly attracted a lot of townsfolk, and as far as Jake could see there were only two vacant tables. He tapped Dirk’s shoulder and, because the crowd was chatting loudly in anticipation of the performance, he had to shout to tell him that he will occupy the table before anyone else does while Dirk can order whatever; Dirk nodded and went to the bar counter, while Jake made his way through the crowd, apologising to anyone he elbowed accidently. He had to apologise a lot.

The table he chose was near a wall, away from the loudest part of the bar – but despite all the noise the place had a warm, friendly atmosphere Jake admired. Jade and he visited the place more than a few times – Jade loved it for the lack of ‘no animals’ policy. She generally avoided places where Bec couldn’t go.

Despite being of legal drinking age and the fact everyone in Nocteville knew them, Jake always felt nervous in bars, like someone could ask him to prove himself any second. Dirk didn’t seem to experience such a problem, he strolled straight to the counter projecting immense confidence, and Jake suddenly realized just how much _older_ he looked, standing near the counter with hands in pockets and one hip leaning against it, like he owned the place. He also admired the swift graceful way Dirk moved through the crowd, reaching their table in record time, not even brushing people he walked past.

“You seem to be a celebrity around here,” he sat at the chair across Jake and passed him a glass full of sparkling mineral water. “The bartender sends you her regards. She also asked where your sister and dog were, and seemed personally offended that she didn’t know me. I think she wants to be an interrogator at heart, judging by the tone she used to ask who I am.”

“And what did you say?”

“That I’m your long-lost twin brother, and Jade and Becquerel are busy selling the house because we are moving to live in a desert. I don’t think she believed me.”

Jake’s snorted so loudly, it earned him a disapproving stare from a couple at the nearby table.

“Lucky lady, so much juicy gossip to discuss today.”

Dirk gave him a small crooked smile and lifted a glass to his lips, falling into thoughtful silence again.

Jake tried to remember what Grandpa and his friends talked about during their meetings, but failed; he really should have paid more attention to the table manners lessons.

“So, what are you... thinking about?” He tried asking.

“Making work plans for tomorrow,” Dirk said. “Perhaps if I will be able to start fixing the controls today, I will finish them tomorrow.”

He looked focused and serious again, and Jake wasn’t about to take any of that.

“Stop right there, no variation of ‘I need to work’ is going to work on me, mister,” Jake pointed a finger at him. “Stop worrying about it. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, you can miss one measly evening. Besides, we are not getting schnockered, we are two civilized gentlemen enjoying a summer evening without causing any hullabaloo,” he raised his glass to emphasize.

Dirk clinked his own glass with Jake’s. “Well, when you put it like that it sounds alluring.”

“Hi, Jake!” A voice shouted over the crowd chattering, and they saw a ginger waiter waving at him. Jake remembered the guy, but they were not friendly enough to start a conversation, so he simply waved back. The waiter looked at their table and at Dirk curiously; _‘Where are Jade and Bec?’_ and _‘Who is this?’_ hanging in the air unasked. Jake supposed it was strange for an onlooker; after all, he has never been seen either without Jade or with other people.

“Should I take it as a sign that you come here often to get, as you’ve said, ‘schnockered?’ ” Dirk wiggled his fingers to show air quotes, and Jake snorted.

“For heaven’s sake, no! Our visits were nothing but sophisticated. Jade loves listening to the music here – and they even asked her to play and sing too. She didn’t accept, even though everyone complimented her voice.”

“Are there any talents Jade doesn’t have?” Dirk’s eyebrows rose.

“I don’t think so,” Jake laughed. “I’m surprised the science centres didn’t want her preserved as an example of a human being yet. Among the two of us she is the one with all the skills, brains, and looks.”

“Allow me to object to the last thing,” Dirk saluted with his glass.

Jake laughed awkwardly and turned to the side to stare at the pictures on the wall – he’s always had trouble taking a compliment. “Ha-ha, oh shucks, stop this malarkey, you are too kind...”

Not knowing what else to say, that wouldn’t make him look like a mumbling idiot, he drained his glass in one go.

Thankfully, he was freed from the duty of forming a proper reply by the hostess – bless her timing – who chose that exact moment to announce the beginning of the performance (wait, it was eight in the evening already? Did they really spend that much time together? It felt like nothing). The crowd clapped and everyone’s attention shifted to the stage where the musicians started playing.

***

In Dirk’s opinion, seven days wasn’t enough to get to know a person and determine their worth, yet he couldn’t help but think Jake was somehow different, the kind of person he wanted to continue knowing, even though their lifestyles drastically unlike.

Dirk was envious. It wasn’t an unusual feeling for him, seeing how he was constantly surrounded by people better than him – Equius was greater at engineering, Nepeta was kinder, Dane was a better fighter, Dave was a better Strider, even their neighbours lived in bigger houses with better jobs. And now there were English and Harley, and there was no better way to describe them but the heroes coming from pages of adventure novels they were such huge fans of.

They never seemed to worry about anything; they could take off and go travelling to see the largest waterfall on Earth just because their whim told them to.

He has never met anyone like Jake or Jade – although those were empty words, Dirk barely talked to people of his age category anyway.

He envied this carefree lifestyle, because even though Dirk considered himself to be a fully independent person, now that he wasn’t living with his brothers, still there were so many things he _could_ do, but wasn’t _allowing_ himself to do, because there was nothing more important than the workshop.

It was both due to his own interest in engineering, and the fact that he owed Equius and Nepeta everything he had now. When he, a sixteen-year-old, came to Avis five years ago with just a katana strapped to his back and the knowledge of clock repairs, not only Equius took him in as an apprentice of sorts, teaching him everything he knew, but he also cleared a room for him in the attic instead of sending him away to spend money on rent. On top of everything else, he and Equius had an immediate connection because of similar family situations. Dirk would call it a miracle if he believed in miracles – but he didn’t, so he called it unusual human kindness and held on to CT like it was a post in a middle of a hurricane.

He had a plan of moving out eventually, and so far saved a quarter of the money needed to buy his own apartment. That’s why he never got into any recreational activities in Avis; when an opportunity to have some free time aroused, he always asked Equius to give him more projects. Occasionally, Nepeta would forbid Equius to do so, saying Dirk needed to go out and unwind; in those cases he picked some scraps of metal and pieces of wires, and tried to invent something of his own, that could be sold under CT brand.

He could empathise with Jake, who had a deep connection with his house and SkaiaNet dirigible, although while Jake’s connection was one of sentiment and love, Dirk’s was of gratitude and practicality.

When he saw the SkaiaNet logo on the dirigible he was shocked and even somewhat close to fearful. Asking him to repair the SkaiaNet technology was like walking up to a first-year art student and asking them to restore Mona Lisa.

On top of everything he learned about the twins while travelling with them in the balloon, they also ended up being his engineering idols’, June and Joss Harleys, grandchildren. When he learned it, his brain’s immediate response was “well, that explains it,” as if all this time it was searching for a logical explanation of how Jake and Jade could be so unrestrained and _free_.

Being in their house was an experience. It was unbelievably huge and rich, covered in expensive fabrics, wood, and priceless items – but at the same time the fancy wallpaper was mercilessly pierced with nails to hang a ton of pictures of the Harleys (yes, Jake was English – but only technically). In a bizarre way, it seemed the twins didn’t even realize how rich they were.

Their way of living was probably rubbing off on him, because now he was sitting in a music bar technically during his working hours, listening to a sad guitar tune, and chatting with his client. Equius, a man of hierarchy, would disapprove.

Okay, sometimes he forgot to think of Jake and Jade as his employers – they were younger, more naive, their way of communicating was open and friendly. Maybe too open, sometimes Dirk wanted to shake them and remind them it wasn’t wise to spew personal information around like this (Jake even used real names and locations in his writing, who does that?).

Jake sat in front of him right now, deep green eyes looking the stage with clear amusement, buck teeth making his smile look even wider. His cheeks were coloured by a faint blush, because the room became stiffer after even more people came in to listen to the musicians who transitioned into another, brighter song now.

Actually, Dirk’s final and main reason for sitting in a bar was not being able to say no to Jake. There was something in his expression, something so earnest that made him believe for a moment that him going for a walk in town was the best thing that could happen to Jake. It was nice to think there were people who didn’t judge the quality of his work only.

Dirk tried to say something nice to him, like a compliment, but failed miserably, making things awkward and embarrassing; he barely resisted smacking himself in the head as soon as the words escaped his mouth. He still sucked at human interaction, so he decided to simply stick to his domain – being a silent statue of coolness and rad fashion sense.

However, this resolution went down the drain as soon as Jake asked what his favourite music genre was, which spun into a long and heated discussion about modern art; as if a levee was broken through, finally there was someone to listen to his rants about music, novels, art, plays, and comic books – all current forms of entertainment.

And at that moment, nothing else mattered but being in a company of a new friend.

***

“Oh, I love this one!” Jake said excitedly when he recognised the first chords the guitarist played and the lyrics that satirized the way government worked. Was it the tenth or eleventh song they played? Or maybe the thirtieth? Jake lost count – talking to Dirk was far more entertaining. His pose was more relaxed now, and his gestures became more animated, but Jake still wished he could see the rest of his face.

Jake felt a lot more relaxed as well, and even forgot about following Grandpa’s conversation patterns – until now. It was clear that Dirk was intelligent, and for some reason Jake really wanted to impress him, so he decided to say something smart too.

“I am not sure I agree with the whole idea for a song,” he continued, taking a bite off a meat pasty they ordered to substitute for missed dinner. Some juice dripped down, and Jake swore at himself for ruining the gesture that otherwise would look very sophisticated. “I know the social issues it discusses are important, but do we really need to bring topics of religion and the ways it’s used for manipulate people into a song? They,” he pointed at the crowd cheering and singing along, “perceive it as mindless entertainment. This kind of belittles the topics, don’t you think?”

Judging by the way Dirk’s eyebrows shot upwards, this change of tone in the conversation was as unexpected as Jake imagined. He wanted to thump his head into a table – he was failing this friendship thing.

“Entertainment is the easiest way of delivering something to the masses,” Dirk said. “You, of all people, should know it, Mr. Writer.”

Jake felt colour creeping to his cheeks. Those weren’t his words and ideas, he didn’t know what to answer; it seemed like he dug his own trap.

“Well, I don’t talk about politics in my stories…” He trailed off. “It’s just that… Grandpa used to say this about music,” he finally said with a sigh, deciding to stick to the truth.

“Did he?”

Dirk leaned forward even closer than before, interest clear in his voice; so close Jake could see his own reflection in the glossy surface of the shades. He looked down at the table.

“Uh, yes. He said, ‘let people enjoy themselves without forcing your morals down their throats every waking second.’ “

“That’s one way to look at the matter,” Dirk said, swirling the leftovers of the third glass of mineral water. “What were they like, Joss and June?”

“They were amazing, the greatest grandparents in the world,” Jake smiled; it was impossible to describe just how great of people they were, but Dirk thought they were geniuses too, and he must have understood. “They had a great taste for adventure, and they’ve travelled about the whole world searching for it.”

“No doubt,” Dirk gave him a small smile too. The end of his words drowned in cheering from the crowd that erupted at the end of the song, and the musician bowed, strumming his guitar again, starting a new melody.

“Gosh, I love this one as well!” Jake cheered with the crowd that greeted a new singer on the stage.

Surprisingly, Dirk straightened up too. “Me too! Finally they are playing something I know. It’s one of my favourite songs, actually,” he said in a secretive voice. “Don’t tell anyone, it’ll ruin my reputation.”

Jake laughed; he still couldn’t pinpoint whether Dirk was joking or not.

“You know, Grandma left us the original record of ‘Time’, you can have it if you want, when we get back home,” he offered.

“Original, you serious?” Dirk asked with a voice that made Jake want to give him all their records at once, and added more calmly, “Thanks, man.”

“You are welcome,” Jake beamed, winking and pointing two fingers at him in his trademark gesture. It felt good to do something nice for a friend.

The musicians were done with the incredibly long intro for the song, and began singing, motioning to the people to join them.

“Care to sing along?” Jake smiled, nodding at the people singing ‘ _Waiting for someone or something to show you the way,’_ but Dirk only huffed.

“No way, don’t even ask.”

So Jake settled on humming along with the lyrics, a surprising thought appearing: this was probably the first time the song’s dull atmosphere and slow tune didn’t put him in a state of melancholy.

He also realized that he completely forgot to miss Jade.

***

The next morning Jake found himself fully awake at the usual hour, despite his initial plan to sleep till noon, because of Jade’s very loud interest in how their night’s been.

They returned home at three in the morning, and, of course, she went to sleep earlier – he felt guilty the moment he saw her, and tried to apologise, saying he will never go out without her for so long, but Jade just waved him off and sounded genuinely happy saying she was glad they had a fun outing.

Jake tried to get on with his usual business, he really did, but somehow he felt pulled towards Dirk, wanting yesterday’s conversation to continue. That’s why later after breakfast, after he was done with dishwashing, Jake found himself sitting in the pilot’s seat and watching Dirk fiddle with wires and circuits in the control panel, reading the best stories from their collection aloud: Dirk said it was so much better than sitting in silence.

That and the following days it was as if Jake spilled glue on Dirk accidentally and now was stuck and couldn’t (didn’t want to) rip himself off. At first he found excuses, like bringing him tea or offering to assist with holding spanners or whatever he needed, but then he just kind of stayed there and Dirk didn’t seem to mind, even after he almost put a circuit into a wrong slot because Jake distracted him too much. He let more of his personality shine through, the dry humour and sarcastic remarks becoming more frequent.

Remembering his promise about the record, Jake set on a quest of finding it in the piles of unused things stored in the basement, which wasn’t easy and took him three whole days. But as soon as he spotted it in a huge box full of various other records, he grabbed it and went straight to the guest room, which was now strictly referred to as ‘Dirk’s room’, knocking at the door and letting himself in.

“A hero returns from his quest with obtained treasure,” Jake announced, handing Dirk the record. “Here you go.”

“A humble local accepts the resplendent gift with gratitude and offers his assistance in the hero’s crusade of saving the world,” Dirk said, and Jake laughed bashfully, recognizing a quote from the _Wondrous Adventures_.

“Sorry it has some scratches,” he added, “And the quality of sound isn’t very good, but what do you expect from– goodness gracious, is that a sword?!”

All was forgotten when his eyes fell onto a thin sword in a plain black scabbard resting against the wall near the head of this bed. Dirk followed his stare and took the scabbard, holding it out for Jake to look at closer.

“Actually, it’s a katana,” he explained, but Jake didn’t really care. Everything with a blade was awesome. Not as awesome as firearms, of course, but swords held a firm second place.

He ran his fingers down the handle that has tightly wrapped in coarse black fabric; the scabbard was covered in loads of scratches and dents that were painted over multiple times.

“Do you like swords too?”

Maybe Jake imagined it, but Dirk sounded hopeful.

“Guns are so much better,” he said. “But swords are pretty spiffing too. So you are a swordsman then? Or... Katanaman? Why did you bring it along? You think someone’s going to attack you here?” Jake showered him with questions.

“Technically, there is a possibility,” Dirk replied seriously.

Jake smiled. “Technically, a meteor can strike the Earth any second.”

“Yeah, I’m prepared for that,” Dirk tapped the blade. “I’ll slice it in half.”

Jake laughed and handed the sword back, looking at Dirk hopefully. “Can you teach me?”

Dirk shook his head. “We will need another blade for this, it’s no use to have only one.”

Jake’s hopes were crashed – the only weapons they had here were guns. Devastation was probably reflected on his face, because Dirk added quickly, “I can teach you something else about strife instead. A fist fight, for example?”

Jake couldn’t help but snort at the hilarious proposition. “Sorry, mate, but you picked the wrong guy. If anyone’s the master of fisticuffs, it’s me.”

When June and Joss taught Jake and Jade how to handle firearms, they said the two needed to learn other means of self-defence that could be used in case the weapons weren’t available. While the twins thought the notion was weird (who would ever want to attack them? They were peaceful people), Jake was glad to learn the fighting techniques, which were a great outlet for his inexhaustible energy.

Dirk’s eyebrow shot up over his shades. “Are you serious or is it just another fictional thing?”

Jake puffed up his chest. “Of course I am serious! You want some proof?”

“Looks like you are calling me out on a duel,” Dirk tilted his head. “I’m not sure Mr. Zahhak would approve of me beating up a client.”

“Are you finding excuses to get out of being thrashed?” Jake replied, feeling a thrill of a challenge picking up in his blood.

Dirk smirked. “You want it, you get it. Just don’t be too offended when your ass will be handed to you.”

“I suppose the proper distribution of derrières better be decided after the fight is over,” he couldn’t stop grinning. It’s been long since he engaged in a fight with someone, now it was a chance to recollect Grandpa’s training. “Anyhow, what will the prize be?”

“Why do we need a prize?”

“Why not? The winner should always be praised and rewarded, like a true hero!”

“I don’t have anything to give away. Unless you want tools, but you asked me yesterday what the difference between a tri-point screwdriver and a tri-wing screwdriver is, so I figure you are not interested.”

“No, I didn’t mean material possessions, that’s boring. I was thinking more along the lines of a wish.”

“A wish,” Dirk repeated, like the entire concept was foreign for him.

“Yep, if you win, which won’t happen, I will do whatever you like, and vice versa.”

“A victory is a prize on its own, but whatever, the rules might be different on your turf.”

They went outside; Jake was already wearing a thin t-shirt with short sleeves that didn’t restrict the movements, and Dirk unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a black tank top and a tattoo on his right upper arm. It looked more like a bunch of random lines than an actual drawing, and only an attentive person could understand there was a face depicted.

“Before you ask why the hell I haven’t sued the artist – it’s supposed to suck,” Dirk said, armed crossed on his chest. “That’s what makes it funny.”

“Huh” was the only thing Jake could say to this demonstration of strange logic. But he shook the confusion off when Dirk took on a standby pose, ready for attack. Jake mirrored him, in the meantime assessing Dirk’s physical advantages, like he was taught from age six.

Dirk was half a head taller and had muscular arms of a person who constantly does handwork; sword wielding came into play here too. But at the same time he was thinner and had less body weight; knocking him off his feet shouldn’t be hard; besides, he probably couldn’t see well through the dark shades. Honestly, they were almost unevenly matched. This should be easy; so Jake graciously allowed him to call the start of the strife.

Of course, it wasn’t easy at all. Dirk compensated his weaknesses with almost inhuman speed, and Jake’s blows landed into thin air; he set on trying to trip him instead, but while doing so he almost tripped over himself. He realized that if it wasn’t for practising climbing the mountains and running through various unexplored places, he wouldn’t have lasted a second against Dirk.

Out of the corner of his eye Jake spotted Bec watching them; most likely he understood they weren’t fighting for real and didn’t attack Dirk; or maybe he didn’t care because it wasn’t _Jade_ who was in danger. Unfortunately, thinking about Bec distracted him, and Dirk’s fist ended up smashing right in his jaw. Jake took a stumbling step back and his glasses flew off – he didn’t have time to pick them up, busy with dodging another blow, now blurred. Jake stepped to the side, careful not to step on the glasses, and by doing so, managed to grab Dirk’s wrist, jerking his hand upwards, throwing him off balance. His subconsciousness, engraved in him since early childhood, prompted him to push Dirk in the solar plexus with all his body weight before his mind could even process it, crashing him onto the ground, pinning his wrists over his head, and straddling his thighs so that he couldn’t move.

Both were out of breath as Jake counted the seconds, while Dirk tried to break free out of his grip – Jake pressed his thighs even harder then, paralysing him completely.

“Ten!” Jake exclaimed and let go of Dirk’s wrists which he rubbed with a wince. Jake looked at bright red marks on pale skin and immediately felt guilty about proposing this stupid fight. Sometimes, when he got into something too much, he’d completely forget to hold back. In apology, he offered Dirk a hand to get up, but he didn’t take it.

“Sorry,” Jake muttered.

“That’s okay, I humbly accept my defeat,” Dirk said flatly, rose to his feet, and began shaking the dust off his pants. “What do you want?”

“Hmmm...”

As much as Jake kept saying he was going to win, he has never actually thought about what kind of wish he would make. He gazed at Dirk, contemplating, until something struck him.

“Take off your shades!”

Dirk’s hands stilled. “Seriously? You are going to waste your wish on _that_?”

“Yeah, I’m curious what your face looks like.”

“In the world of possibilities of combining any kind of weirdass shit together to make one glorious hell of a wish, is this all your imagination could come up with when interpreting the word ‘anything?’ “

Perhaps it was a little weird, Jake thought, but he just shrugged sheepishly, and said, “The rules are the rules.”

Dirk shook his head. “You are a ridiculous man,” he said and took the shades off, looking back at Jake with brightest orange eyes he has ever seen, squinting at the sudden exposure to sunlight.

His nose and cheeks were decorated with faint freckles, goldish eyebrows were only a touch darker than his hair, and all of this was weird, because there was no way the guy could have any appearance insecurities to want to cover a face like this.

“Satisfied?” he said, putting on the shades again and crossing his arms.

“Um, yes,” Jake really needed to say something, like a compliment. He cleared his throat.

 _Shall I compare thee to a descending sun_ certainly wasn’t the suitable thing to say.

While he was thinking, Dirk opened the door to the dirigible.

“Right. Anyway, not that being horribly humiliated in a fist fight isn’t my favourite pastime, but I’ve got work to do.”

He disappeared in the dirigible that now looked good as new on the outside, and Jake followed, saying sorry again.

“No need to apologize,” Dirk said. “You did warn me. Who did you say taught you?”

“Mostly Grandpa, fighting was his forte,” Jake said, relieved that he didn’t sound angry. “And Grandma helped too, but in the firearms department, she was a fair markswoman.”

“Figures.”

The words were muffled, because Dirk climbed in the engine room to start working on the main problem, and didn’t protest when Jake stayed with him for the rest of the day.

It felt great, it felt right, and the only flaw was the lack of Jade and Bec.

When he invited Jade to join them, she shook her head, barely containing a smile, and said that she didn’t want to crash their little palsy-walsy parties.

He asked her if she didn’t like Dirk, which made her eyes widen in shock – she objected and the next time they gathered altogether, even Bec, who followed Jade everywhere.

Later, Jake asked Dirk a question that was burning him since their strife.

“Why are you wearing these shades?” They were in the cockpit again, Jake was sitting on the floor leaning on the control panel, Dirk was lying on his back under the panel next to him, doing little important things Jake didn’t understand.

“Told you, they are my thing. Brand recognition, so on, so forth.”

Jake hummed and rested his head against the cool metal surface.

“Something tells me that’s not the real reason.”

“Then you should ask your _’something’_ , not me.”

Jake bended over him. “Are you hiding from someone?”

“Oh my god.”

Dirk groaned and sat up to face to properly. “Why are you asking me all these questions?”

“Because that’s what people do, don’t they? They try to understand each other better, to become friends...” He hesitated for a moment, suddenly unsure if his belief was correct.

“There is no point. Tomorrow,” he tapped the control panel, “this will be complete, and I will have to go back to CT.”

The word _tomorrow_ came like an avalanche.

And seeing the dirigible almost fixed was more than great, it was incredible, like a relative being discharged from a hospital, but after that Jake felt dread whenever he thought about the next day. Why did it have to end so soon? As a pathetic last resort he considered asking Dirk to install the pneumatic mail they saw in CT workshop, it must be a difficult thing to install, should give them a few more days... To do what? Become best friends? What was the average time frame for becoming friends anyway? And why hasn't Grandma ever taught him how to become friends with someone?

Those were the questions Jake should have asked himself, but didn’t, asking instead: what would a protagonist of an adventure novel do?

When Jade heard about his idea, she dropped the box she was holding.

“Seriously, Jake, I am torn between two very appealing options right now – smack you or smack myself. Fasten your seatbelt, because I am about to let you in on a secret,” she said in a patient tone one uses with a toddler. Jake groaned, because it meant she was about to explain what kind of dunderhead he was in many colourful ways. “Instead of sabotaging our own projects and making up elaborate plans that could make secret agencies proud, you can – gasp! – ask him to go on a trip with us! Amazing, right? People can ask other people direct questions! What an unbelievable discovery!”

Jake told her to stop pretending to be in a drama play, he got it the first time she said it, thank you very much – but, as always, she was right. He could simply ask Dirk to join them on their next adventure, especially since Jade wasn’t against it (“Of course I’m not against it, you dummy,” she said, widening her eyes so much, Jake was afraid they’d pop out).

Of course, there was a possibility that he would say no, he seemed to be attached to his job a lot.

After Dirk officially announced the dirigible’s complete readiness for a flight, which took exactly two weeks as he promised, it was met with a lot of excitement from the twins and tail wagging from Bec.

When Jake entered his room, the duffel bag was already packed, and the sword was nowhere to be seen, the bed was made and the curtains were closed. Everything looked sad and terminal.

“Hey,” Jake said, looking at Dirk who was packing _Wondrous Adventures_ series in a smaller bag – he decided to take them after all.

“Hey,” he replied in kind. The bag was too small and the zipper wouldn’t close. “The train to Avis leaves in four hours.”

“No way, trains are stupid!” In a flash of anger, Jake almost forgot why he came here in the first place, because of the preposterous notion to take a train. Trains were going to be the downfall of the nation. “You should take a passenger dirigible, or even better, we should test the SkaiaNet dirigible and give you a lift.”

Dirk shook his head and gave Jake a piece of paper in lieu of replying. “This is my address – the workshop’s address. If you ever want to talk about mutant hyenas or something, or literally anything else, or, dunno, if you ever need something fixed, you can always write me a letter.”

“Yeah,” Jake pocketed the paper carefully and clenched his hands. “Speaking of which... What if something breaks during the flight again? I mean, you did several modifications we know nothing about, we have no idea what to do if any malfunctions occur!”

Dirk frowned. “You want me to write you a manual?”

“No, even with the manual it would be hard for us to do the right thing, what if we mess something up? I am a writer, Jade is a botanist, Bec is a dog, it would be great to have an engineer on board, someone who can actually understand these things. Okay, what I’m trying to say is...” He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Would you like to travel with us? You could see the world, all the amazing things you’ve read about for real! And new things too, we could discover them together! Jade and I, we will be happy if you join us for the next trip.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” Dirk replied, “however, not everyone is as free of obligations as you. People with permanent jobs can’t travel on a whim, simply because they want to.”

“Can’t you just ask your boss for a vacation? I... I’d really like you to come with,” Jake refused to look anywhere but the floor.

“I’d really like that too,” Dirk said, as if sharing a secret. He fell silent again, contemplating something.

“Equius never changes his mind,” he said firmly. “Unless it’s Nepeta asking, he’ll do whatever she says. If you convince her to ask him, it’s in the bag.”

Jake looked up. “Wait, does it mean you agree? To go with us?”

“No, I’ve revealed my landlord’s single weak spot just for shits and giggles,” he said in a voice that suggested he was rolling his eyes. “Of course I agree. But one trip only.”

A grin slowly spread on Jake’s face. Everything was turning up to be spiffing, as usual. He would try hard to convince Nepeta and Equius to let him go, and if he failed – at least they would give Dirk a lift to Avis.

He told Jade, who, of course, couldn’t resist saying “I told you so,” and suggested they start packing immediately.

When the dirigible rose in the air, the engines working smoother than ever and the control panel reacting to a mere touch, Jake didn’t feel nervous about having a new person on board anymore: if there was anyone who deserved to be here, it was Dirk.

***

Equius Zahhak regarded Jake and Jade sternly, as if evaluating their worth, and they shivered under his unnerving gaze.

Nepeta was bouncing next to him, looking exasperated. “Come o-o-o-on, Equius, we've talked about this, I know you’ve already made up your mind!”

“I can’t let my employee go away for an undetermined period of time with random people,” he said stubbornly.

“So what are you gonna do, inspect their brains?” Nepeta groaned. “Don’t be a prude, Equius.”

“I am not a prude,” Equius protested.

“Yes you are,” Nepeta sang.

“No I'm not.”

“You so are.”

“I'm not.”

“Then let Dirk travel the world already, gosh!”

Equius sighed, giving up, and glared at Jake and Jade again. “I want him back in one piece, do you understand me?”

“Yessir,” Jade said, and Jake saw Dirk coming out with the same small duffel bag he carried before.

“That’s all you’ve packed?” Jake asked.

“I don’t need a lot, I’ll be gone for a couple of days only,” Dirk said, addressing mostly Equius, and the latter nodded.

“Ten days, to the Crystal Falls and back,” Jake added, thinking that if it’s going to be a single trip, he would make sure it was unforgettable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, now that we've got establishing characters and backstories out of the way, we can finally have some real plot and action!  
> In the next episode: the unforgettable trip turns more unforgettable than expected.
> 
> A lot of songs played in that music bar, but there's only one worth mentioning. If this fanfic had a soundtrack, it would be "Time" by Pink Floyd (that's where the epigraph comes from). Please give it a listen when you have a chance, it's amazing ([this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxFHkcV8bI0) is my favourite version).
> 
> Check [the waoheas tag on my tumblr](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/tagged/waoheas) if you want to see extra info, drawings, full-size illustrations, etc.


	2. The Legend Of Twelve Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dirk learns an ancient legend, the team goes to see the Crystal Falls, meets the worst tour guide in history, and also gets a name.

“This is our starting point,” Jake said, pointing at a thumbtack pinned in the dot labelled Nocteville. “And that’s our destination. Estimated time of arrival is two more days,” he pinned another thumbtack at the Crystal Falls, connecting the two with a green string, and proceeded to mark all the rest of the places they visited over the course of their trip. Apparently, Jake’s talent was reading maps: choosing a perfect course and estimating the time of arrival with great precision.

Also, he has shown great knowledge in geography, which was something Dirk himself didn’t possess, which only made him respect it more. Jake never failed to point out landmarks and places they passed, and thus, Dirk was glued to the window most of the time, wondering how could something as simple as nature look so amazing from a bird’s-eye view.

He was already regretting agreeing for only one trip.

They’ve been flying for four days now, with occasional stops to get supplies and see random places that, according to Jake, “would be criminal to fly by without stopping”. He seemed set on concentrating as much sightseeing in this trip as possible, and Dirk certainly didn’t complain. He regretted being so attached to his job; frankly, he wanted this trip to last as long as possible. That’s why in the end he even started suggesting stops too, all to Jake’s and Jade’s delight.

At first, Dirk thought spending time secluded in small space of the dirigible would be boring, even if it was the SkaiaNet dirigible, but the twins always found ways to be busy with board games, card games, a ton of talking, and teaching Bec new tricks (which probably explained why he was smarter than any animal Dirk has ever met).

A dart flew over his head – Jade was throwing them into a dartboard, and Bec followed them with his eyes without lifting his head off the floor. Dirk spared a glance at the map Jake had spread on the table and went back to being engrossed in a book he was reading – the collection of legends and fairytales. He turned the page to begin reading another chapter, entitled ‘The Legend Of Twelve Gods’, when Jake peered at the pages and literally ripped the book out of his hands.

“Don’t read it!!” He yelled and threw it away like it was poisonous.

The book thumped against the glass window and slid down, its pages rustling miserably, while Jade muttered quietly in the background, _‘Oh my God.’_

“What, why not?”

“Because it is the most inaccurate and propagandistic version of the Legend of Twelve Spirits ever, it’s nothing but a bunch of cockamamie rumours slapped together, there are much better ones! If you want to introduce yourself to this legend, you better read this,” he pulled a thin journal out of the cupboard.

“Why do you even have that book if you don’t like it?” Dirk asked, flipping through the journal covered in words written in green ink.

“First of all, the other fairytales are pretty darn swell there. Second of all, it’s for research purposes. When one is on the search for the truth, they must study all the versions of the same story, even those that are knowingly wrong. But for you, the first encounter with this wonderful legend to be with an utterly wrong version – sorry, I can’t allow this to happen,” he drew a deep breath. “And this journal has a generalized compilation of the most truthful facts – it’s mine, it may not be well written, it’s just a draft that I haven’t spiced up with some spiffy adjectives yet, but at least I’ve spent good four years researching official records left from the fallen Empire, as well as various ways the story is told in different regions and even families. I know that this part of history is open to interpretation, because all of it happened so long ago, and we might never know the whole truth, but I tried to stay as true to the facts that can be proven as possible.”

“Nerd,” Jade said, but Jake ignored her, watching Dirk instead.

“If you gonna read it, read it aloud, Dirk,” she added and flipped on her stomach, using Bec as a pillow.

Jake got into a more comfortable position as well, looking at him with a strange anticipant expression, and Dirk did exactly that, starting with the calligraphically written title _The Legend Of Twelve Spirits_ , noting Jake’s neat handwriting.

_Once upon a time, more than twenty centuries ago, when a barrier between the human world and transcendental world was thin, twelve Spirits broke through it and emerged in our realm. They had different methods, but their goal was the same – to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth and take this realm to themselves. Doom, Life, Hope, Heart, Breath, Light, Void, Blood, Time, Mind, and Rage were creatures capable of massive destruction, but nothing could compare to the Spirit of Space, their monarch, the lord and master of all transcendental beings._

_The Supreme Empress of the Union Land gathered the strongest warriors to battle them, and the heroic battle to save the existence of humanity went on for four hundred and thirteen days and nights._

_It was a heinous bloodbath; the Spirits knew how to make the warriors suffer. The Spirit of Mind entered their thoughts and rose their worst nightmares from the bottom of their minds, the Spirit of Heart ripped their souls apart with a mere touch, the Spirit of Rage burned them alive in fiery blaze, and the Spirit of Hope took their hopes and crashed them, making them see relief only in death._

_Many brave soldiers gave up their lives in this noble but arduous battle, but all they could do was delay the annihilation of their realm._

_They couldn’t harm the Spirits because only magic could defeat magic; but even the most skilful magicians of the century couldn’t conjure the spell strong enough to slay the Spirits, the only creatures who could be truly immortal._

_Finally the Empress’s Council of Magicians suggested the only way they could save themselves: binding the Spirits without destroying them. So they took twelve objects from the Empress’s chambers and used them as vessels to contain the Spirits, with each magician enchanting their own object. The spells the twelve Magicians conjured weakened the Spirits: now the only way they could exist in our realm was if they had a vessel, and the enchanted vessels the Magicians used would still them for all eternity without any chance of being free, unless one used an incantation to break the bonds._

_The Empress gave up the most significant objects to symbolize the sacrifices humanity had to suffer: her daughter’s golden mirror, the locket with her parents’ images, the rings she wedded her husband with, and even her crown, which she was not seen wearing ever again._

_The war was over, but the fear was not. The people wailed as they saw the destruction the war caused, the dear warriors they lost, and begged the magicians to protect them from more spirits coming through the barrier._

_The Magicians complied, as they felt fear too. They spent days without rest to let one of them, the Maiden, enter the realm of the dead, and when she did, she saw the souls of the fallen warriors._

_“We are not over,” they whispered into her mind. “We want to protect our people. Let us fight again.”_

_The Magicians heeded to the request of the fallen, and put up their own enchanted barrier between two realms, the one made out of the most powerful force in the world: human souls and self-sacrifice._

_Thus, the people of the nation could sleep the sleep of the just, because their realm was guarded by a thousand souls of the warriors who gave up their lives to protect the peace, preventing anything spiritual entering the human world._

_Now, when the danger was over, the Empress thought about ways she could use the newly created talismans containing the Spirits for her benefit. During the war she observed the ways they dominated the battlefield, and she wanted to create a way to take this power under her control and conquer the neighbour lands._

_The Empress ordered the Magicians to create spells and rituals that would allow her to use the power of the Spirits, and they obeyed. Each vessel was given a special spell and a ritual needed to reform it. She prohibited to mention the spells in any writing in fear of anyone else but her using them, and ordered to engrave the incantations directly on the objects using a special cipher she devised. The Magicians did as told – and she cut their tongues off so that they wouldn’t be able to speak of the magic they witnessed._

_She thought the spells would allow a person to become one with the spirit and use its immense potential – but the human bodies and minds were too weak, and thus the Spirits took full control of their new human vessels they were graciously given._

_And the war broke out again, and even though the Spirits were a lot weaker, they were furious at the humans that captured them, and it was a harrowing ordeal for the warriors to fight their own possessed comrades._

_When the second war was over, the Empress’s vision was still clouded with sorrow and yearning for revenge, and she wanted to find new, stronger warriors whose minds would be robust enough to handle being welded with the Spirits. But the Magicians foresaw this plan leading to more death and destruction, so they stole the objects in the dark of the night and scattered them all around the world so that no one, not a soul, not even the Empress could find them._

_The Empress’s fury had no bounds. Enraged and betrayed, she banned all magic from her land, including one of her own children, who was found guilty of being affiliated with magicians, and till the end of her days searched for the lost treasures to no avail._

_The Magicians hid the objects in deep forests and stormy rivers, and she was never able to find a trace of them. The peace was once again saved from the worst evil of them all – human greediness and selfishness._

_The end._

The journal had a lot more pages covered in messier writing, most likely being Jake’s notes concerning the research, and Dirk decided not to pry. Although now that he knew what the story was about, Jake’s earlier enthusiasm seemed a little bit strange.

“It’s just a story though,” Dirk said. “You are talking like all of this really happened.”

“Jake believes in the tooth fairy too,” Jade smiled and stretched on the floor, and Jake lifted his hands in dismay.

“I’d like to believe there is something else besides our realm, we can’t be the only creatures in the universe. Magic is totally real, and I will prove it someday. Imagine how fascinating the world would be if there were magicians everywhere!”

“I’m pretty sure the dead people from this story would disagree,” Dirk tapped the journal with one finger.

Jade snorted and reached out for a high-five. “That’s what I keep telling him! Good to have another sensible person besides Bec here.”

“Hey, you are supposed to be on my side!” Jake protested. “And anyway, all legends are based on real facts, and there is one piece of solid evidence that proves that at least something about magic in this legend is veracious. The Empress’s crown is unquestionably real, and it was found in the waterfalls, where we are heading! And before you ask – _yes_ , there was, in fact, an incantation written there! It’s kept in the museum, you’ll see for yourself. The spell is written in a cipher though, just like the legend says, but Grandma worked with some linguists who did a translation for her.”

“Although this writing could easily be faked by a person who got this tale stuck in their head,” Jade pointed out. “I mean, even after translating it doesn’t make any sense, it is complete gibberish.”

“No, it’s real! Both Miss Megido and Professor Ampora inspected it, proving it is, in fact, two thousand years old,” Jake protested, frowning at his sister. Obviously, it wasn’t the first time they argued about it.

“Who are those people?” Dirk asked.

“Aradia Megido is an archaeologist, she wrote ‘Studies In Authenticity’, and Eridan Ampora is a history professor from Sandford University, both marvellous writers and scientists, incredibly smart,” Jake said with an awestruck expression. “Both of them did independent research about the Crystal Falls, so you see, Jade, the professionals agree too.”

“I just don’t want you to get your hopes up and then end up being all disappointed, that’s all,” Jade’s voice was mild.

“Argh,” Jake blurted in frustration. “I am a grown-up, I can handle being disappointed.”

Jade pursed her lips in a way that showed she didn’t believe him for a second, but didn’t say anything else. Instead, she dug out a deck of cards and invited everyone for a game of Thousand.

Frankly, Dirk was surprised by how easily the twins accepted him into their routine. It wasn’t  problem for Jade to take the chore chart off the wall and replace it with a new one that had his name in it (except cooking, since the most culinary thing he could do was reheating leftovers) for the next week and a half, as well as give him an extra sleeping bag.

The dirigible only had two bedrooms, so Dirk had to share one with Jake – not that he was complaining; even though it was small, it was enough for them to keep a respectable distance between each other, and besides, it’s not like they spent much time in bedrooms anyway. Actually, it wasn’t his place to complain about anything here – it wasn’t some kind of a tourist trip that one pays for and expects a premium service, it was all the twins’ generosity.

For some reason, this made him think of being a child again, right after their mother died of alcohol overdose because she couldn’t handle their asshole father leaving her, and how the neighbours pitied the three of them, kids who’ve never seen anything besides the commune, giving them all the necessities. Okay, no, they pitied four-year-old Dave left without a mother, and fourteen-year-old Dane who now had to be the head of the family. Dirk, as the middle brother, was kind of overlooked.

His constant need for classification made him wonder if Jake’s and Jade’s attitude towards him should be considered as the same kind of charity the villagers had, or if it was empathy and nothing else, just like with Equius and Nepeta. Or perhaps it was a different kind of kindness deserving its own category. He couldn’t pinpoint its origins, but he wanted to believe they were simply ones of those rare people without any ulterior motives.

So he shoved this issue deep inside his mind, or heart, or wherever the metaphorical storage room for repressed thoughts of a human being was; luckily, he had a ton of other issues it could easily be buried under.

***

They’ve arrived to the Crystal Falls early in the morning. Jake and Jade have been there five times already, but Jake enjoyed it like it was the first time nonetheless, and it wasn’t even because the Falls had a piece of evidence having to do with the legend he was working on, it was just one of the most famous landmarks in the world, depicted on various postcards and paintings. And why shouldn’t it be – it was a breathtaking sight, with three rivers colliding in one point and forming a violent stream of a single waterfall.

The museum was standing on an eminence, surrounded by cliffs, and the only way there was through an observation platform, which then led to several narrow wooden walks that gradually ascended higher and higher, allowing the tourists to have a great view of the Falls.

Jake was happy he could fulfil Dirk’s wish, even though it wasn’t his _dream_ per se (Dirk confessed that the only reason he said he wanted to go to the Falls was because it was one of the few geographical locations he knew), but it was satisfying nonetheless. Because of how early they arrived, the place wasn’t swamped with tourists, only six or seven other people were going through the entrance where a security guard was doing crosswords below the signs saying ‘No food’ and ‘No weapons’.

Jade was thankful for the lack of ‘No animals’ sign, and Jake rolled his eyes at the last one, as usual, thinking that if a burglar wanted to steal the crown, they wouldn’t be stopped by a simple sign.

The trio and Bec passed through the gates with no problems, but when they wanted to go through the door leading to the observation platform, they were stopped by a gaunt young man in a dark blue uniform with a cup of coffee in one hand. The badge on his chest said ‘Sollux Captor, tour guide, security guard’.

“Hey, you can’t go in there without a tour guide.”

Jade and Jake exchanged discontented glances; they’ve never been stopped before. Must be the new policy.

“Since when?”

“Since dumbass jelly-brained tourists started diving off cliffs to win their shitty ass bets. Also, you need to sign the agreement saying the museum is not responsible for any damage you do to yourself,” he said with a slight lisp.

He passed them the paper, where they signed their full names, and drained his coffee in one go, grimacing at the taste.

Jake scowled. _He_ wanted to be the one who tells Dirk about the falls, not some tour guide who looked like he was held here against his will, and every second of his existence was torture. Jade and Jake didn’t need a guide at all, the amount of information concerning the Falls they knew could put anyone to shame.

Sollux Captor didn’t seem to like having them here too, so Jake guessed they were even in this matter.

The small group of tourists that gathered that morning has finally headed out, and in a chorus of collective enthusiastic  ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ Sollux began telling the story of the Falls, and – nothing like the guy who clearly hated his job to introduce people to the wonders of the world.

Jake turned to watch Dirk’s reaction (after all, he was the main reason they came here), not really expecting a big expression of immense delight judging by his usual passiveness, but he smiled at Jake a little and gave him the thumbs up, and Jake thought to himself, _mission accomplished_.

“The Crystal Falls were originally called the Falls of Shepherd, and received their name after a crown that was found in their waters,” the guide continued in a bored voice that could make any insomniac fall asleep. “The crown belonged to the Supreme Empress of an ancient civilization and is mentioned in several folklore stories, including the folk tale about the Ravenous Wendigo and the Legend of Twelve Demons. The locals were so impressed by six diamonds, that symbolize six regions the Empire used to be split into, that they decided to give the waterfalls an appropriate name.”

“Miss Megido says there's another reason,” Jake whispered loudly. “The diamonds symbolize the number of generations the Supreme Empress’s family ruled for, and honestly, I think it’s more plausible, because familial relationships were always more important to the rulers.”

Sollux gave him a dirty look.

“Psst, keep your showing off down, or we’ll be kicked out,” Jade hissed.

“I’m not showing off, I’m just correcting,” Jake replied in the same tone.

“And I’m pretty sure it would be illegal,” Dirk added.

“Nobody cares about the law here,” Jake said. “Otherwise they would hire more than two guards, it’s like they are asking for the thieves to steal the crown.”

But the mistakes went on and on, and even though Jake didn’t necessarily blamed Sollux for that – some of them were just common delusions, some were exaggerated facts to entertain the tourists – he couldn’t allow his new friend to have any misleading information, even if it was about the correct pronunciation of a person’s name.

“Actually, it’s pronounced de-li- _ah_ , not de-li- _eh_ ,” he whispered to Dirk and whoever in the group was eavesdropping at the moment, and it was the last straw.

“If you know so much, why don’t you come here and take my place?!” Sollux glared at him.

“It’s okay, it’s a common mistake,” Jake reassured him, speaking loudly again. “No need to feel bad about yourself.”

He knew those were wrong words to say the moment Sollux’s frown deepened.

“Why does a know-it-all like you, who honoured us mortals with his holy presence, even need a tour guide?” He asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Because you explicitly told us we are not allowed to go in without one,” Jake meant it to be an innocent, truthful explanation, but someone in the group sniggered, finding it hilarious, and Jade covered up her mouth, faking a cough.

He felt bad for Sollux after that, because he looked sickened (dark circles under his eyes and poorly cut black hair certainly didn’t help his appearance), but he just rolled his eyes and beckoned the group.

“Whoever wants to listen to the person actually certified to do this job, please follow me,” he sounded more tired than angry.

Naturally, they fell behind the group.

“What?” Jake asked Jade, who has stopped giggling and now was trying to glare at him; however, to no avail.

“What did I say about showing off?”

“I wasn’t! It just kind of happened, I didn’t mean it,” Jake raised his hands in defence. “Anyway, how do you like the Falls, Dirk? Impressive, right?”

“Are you going to use Dirk as a cover now?” Jade muttered under her breath, and Jake hoped he didn’t hear her. He probably couldn’t because of the sound of rushing water.

“Certainly bigger and louder than pictures in the encyclopaedia,” he answered, leaning on the railing and allowing tiny particles of water to lend on his face. “Never thought I would actually see them. Thank you.”

“It was our complete and utter pleasure,” Jake mimicked his pose, and Jade followed. Even Bec put two paws on the railing to join them.

They watched the waterfalls for a while, and Jake sighed blissfully. He felt so content in that moment, he couldn’t imagine why he's ever thought that having another person in their company would disrupt the peace he, Jade, and Bec had.

It was such a shame they would have to part so soon.

***

The path they were walking led to the museum where the crown, as well as a bunch of less famous relics, were displayed. It was a small building without any excessive décor; there was a metal plate on the wall that said ‘Founded by Tyrine Peixes’. When they entered it, Sollux Captor was in the middle of another lecture and gave them a look that said he would have preferred them to slip on the walk.

With what Jake hoped looked like apologetic ignorance, they passed him and went straight towards the crown.

“See, I told you it is real!” Jake said, glasses clicking against the glass display because he pressed his face into it.

The dim gold of the crown really had strange inscriptions covering it, abraded and therefore barely visible.

“And this is the translation,” Jake showed Dirk a page in the journal he pulled out of a pocket of his waistcoat.

“I should mention that he actually tried reading it, and nothing happened,” Jade added, admiring beautiful diamonds glimmering in bright light.

“Of course I did! Wouldn’t you try to perform a magic spell if you had the text and the object it applies to? _This_ is what should be illegal, ignoring a perfect opportunity!”

“If I was a kid, maybe,” Dirk answered. “Now it seems counterproductive.”

“Maybe I’m doing something wrong,” Jake sighed, tucking the journal back into his waistcoat.

“Maybe you are pronouncing one syllable wrong,” Dirk suggested, and Jade laughed.

“Oh, believe me, he tried to read it in a million different ways!”

“Or maybe it’s not about pronunciation at all,” Dirk mused. “Your legend mentioned rituals, and it would be too simple if the object could be activated simply by saying the words, everyone could be able to do it then, not just the Supreme Empress like the legend said. It said that she stopped wearing the crown once it was converted into a vessel or whatever, maybe you should wear it if you want to do the majyyks,” he waved his hand as though it was holding a magic wand.

“Oh no, step away from Jake, his magic bullshit has gotten into your head, you are infected!!” Jade tried to drag Dirk away, laughing. The other tourists gave them concerned looks. Sollux looked positively murderous.

“Hey, I’m simply coming to a logical conclusion using the information provided,” Dirk said, but Jake felt like the second wind has kicked in.

“Dirk, you are a genius, that’s totally the case!” he beamed. “Now we just need to... Oh,” he deflated like a pierced balloon. “We can’t just take it and see if it works, can we. Although...”

He looked around carefully to make sure nobody was paying attention, and beckoned Jade and Dirk to come closer.

“In the name of science and pure research purposes, we can sneak in after the museum is closed, take it, see if the method works, put it back, and go away pretending nothing happened. Should take less than three minutes,” Jake said in harsh, excited whisper, and Jade got this feverish glint in her eyes that meant that even though she didn’t believe in magic at the slightest, she was totally on board.

“Oh, and Dirk, if you don’t want to–”

Dirk didn’t let him finish. “Are you kidding me? Breaking and entering is what I’ve always dreamed about.”

Jake grinned madly. “Staggering.”

***

It was spiralling out of control, Dirk thought. Maybe Jade was right and he was, in fact, infected with ‘dashing hardihood’, which was just another synonym for utter stupidity. Breaking and entering, surprisingly, was not his dream, and he wondered if being caught here, after acting under the rush of adrenaline and a chance to participate in a group activity, was really worth the risk of losing CT. The answer was obviously positive, since he was currently forcing the lock on the museum door open.

His mind, that split people into categories on autopilot, has already created a brand new list that currently had two names in it. The only reasonable way to name it would be ‘Contagious people spreading dangerous ideas’, but since all reasonableness of mankind seemed to be lost for one Dirk Strider, the title was made of a bunch of indecipherable symbols.

Anyway, the point was, sneaking in dark rooms of the museum that held a national treasure, past the guards, without any light to give them away, and relying solely on Becquerel and his dog senses to guide them, for the sake of testing a magic ritual that wouldn’t work was not exactly how he pictured his pastime, but it brought him excitement nonetheless, the kind he thought had died when he was seven.

With Bec’s help they reached the room with the crown with no complications, and the twins pulled their flashlights out immediately, while Bec stood on guard. Dirk was entrusted with lifting the glass cover carefully and setting it aside so that Jake could grab the crown. But as soon as he touched it, Bec ran up to them, hastening the trio to get out, and a bright light shone right into their eyes. Dirk blessed his awesome shades once more, because he was the only one who didn’t squint in pain.

“Aha, I knew it!” Sollux Captor exclaimed, pointing a flashlight at them. He was wearing a security guard uniform now, and the bags under his eyes were more prominent, as if he hasn’t slept for days. “Fucking thieves, I knew you were up to no good the first time I saw you.”

“We are not thieves, I swear!” Jake raised his hands in surrender. “This is for research only!”

“Sure,” Sollux snorted. “If all research involved stealing precious artefacts, scientists would be the richest people on this godforsaken planet.”

“Just hear me out, okay? I promise, we have a perfectly good explanation of why we are here,” Jake turned his disarming smile on to its full capacity. Not even Sollux seemed to be able to resist it, so he waved his flashlight for him to continue.

“So you know how in the Legend Of Twelve Spirits one of the vessels is a crown? And how it is this exact crown? Nobody could ever activate it by just reading the spell, and my good mate here suggested that there should be some kind of ritual for it to work, and one should wear it to be able to bewitch an enchanted relic. And that is exactly what we wanted to test!”

Sollux stared at him in silence for a few long, heavy seconds.

“I see. Okay, first of all, it’s called a Legend Of Twelve Demons. Second of all, you are either drunk, nuts, or sectarians, but it’s none of my business, the proper authorities will be alerted to classify you.”

Jake and Jade started talking at the same time.

“Gods, demons, spirits – everyone calls them differently, but a rose by any other name–”

“We are not from a sect–”

“–would be as magical–”

“–we are trying to prove the opposite, that magic doesn’t exist!”

“Magic _does_ exist, Jade, of course it does!”

Sollux’s pissed off expression changed into amused, and then into disbelieving.

“For old are you, three? All credibility of your previous corrections has just been lost, as well as the tiniest chance of ever earning respect for your knowledge.”

“Bashing people for their beliefs is rude, did you know that?” Dirk said; even though the subject of the argument was extremely silly, there was an irrational desire to defend Jake, and he stared the guy down. It was tough because of how little light there was in the room, he probably couldn’t see his face clearly, but Dirk had height advantage and put as much disapproval in his pose as possible to make him uncomfortable. Sollux turned away from him.

“Magic _is_ real, I’m going to prove it someday,” Jake said stubbornly. “Maybe even with the help of this crown. If only you could let us take it for just a second, we would conduct a tiny experiment and give it right back!”

Sollux muttered something about children again and rolled his eyes.

“You know what? If that’s what it takes to make you leave, here,” he snapped, exasperated, and ripped the crown out of Jake’s hands so hard, one of the diamonds cut his finger. Jake hissed, sucking the blood off, while Sollux put the crown on his head. It was big and slid off onto his eyes, stopped by his glasses. “Wave your magic wand and read your spell, see if I’ll be possessed by a demon, and then leave this place forever, and don’t come back with your magic bullshit ever again.”

Jade scowled at his sarcastic tone. Dirk suddenly wished he had his katana with him, so that the glint of its blade could convince this asshole to shut up.

Jake pulled a journal out of his jacket like a katana of his own and opened the page with the translation.

“Well, if you volunteer to be the testing subject, so be it! Hortor Torness Sogesio, uh... Emme Pieah...” Jake started reading the journal, squinting as if he was searching for an ant on the floor, and in any other case, Dirk would laugh his ass off, because this sounded even more ridiculous than he expected.

But because it was Jake, he kept the solemn expression and stared at Sollux instead, who was looking ludicrous wearing the oversized crown, fitting the situation.

“Crespotelosamicoram!” Jake finished, barely enunciating the word, and peered at Sollux. “Do you feel any different?”

“No. Wow, that’s uncanny,” he answered with a voice that clearly suggested he thought this entire situation was ridiculous, and wiped something off his brow. Probably blood, it was hard to see in the dark.

Bec became very rigid, and fur stood up on his spine, and Jade looked at him in worry.

“Good luck with proving your intentions and telling the judge about magic,” Sollux wiped the brow again and jerked the crown, trying to take it off.

But now there were two steady streams of dark liquid flowing down his temples, and it definitely wasn’t blood. Dirk shifted into a strife position subconsciously, despite having no weapon.

“Are you– are you okay?” Jake asked with hesitation.

Sollux grabbed the crown and tugged harder. “What the fuck did you do? I can’t take it off, argh!”

He clutched his head with both hands and doubled in pain. The black liquid was now covering his whole face, forming a pool under his feet. The flashlight fell in.

Jake gulped audibly, taking a step back and dragging Jade with him, unable to tear his gaze away from a silhouette of a shaking person now completely covered in black slime-like substance. The little light their flashlights provided made them see the crown melting into his head like wax, covering the disfigured face.

Jade’s breath hitched, and Bec darted from the room, turning the light switch on with his paw in the process.

Jake thought the light would make everything less bone-chillingly scary, but now they could see the way streams of black extended behind the figure like a terrifying living cloak. The way Jade gripped his hand was sure to leave bruises, and all three of them seemed to be frozen in place, unable to tear their eyes from the sight. The man – no, it wasn’t a man anymore, there was nothing human in him left, only blackness and cold – the creature, the  _spirit_ , he stared right back at them, the only sound in the room was drops of black blood falling on the floor. Jake thought he could hear Jade muttering “Holy shit” under her breath.

“I’ve had it enough with your bullshit incompetency, Captor,” an irritated voice rang suddenly from the other room, loud in the strained silence. The creature turned to listen, drawing in short ragged breaths. “Are you physically unable to stop fucking things up?! Turn off the lights and shut up, god damn it!”

Another security guard entered the room, mouth open and ready for a mauling speech, but stopped dead on her tracks.

“What the fuck is thi–”

The goo covering the creature sprouted out, forming a tendril, and hit the woman right into her chest, throwing her out of the window. The smashed glass and the sickening dull sound of the body hitting the wooden walk were like an electric shock snapping the trio back to reality, and they sprung into action. The creature turned to hit Jake next, but missed, slamming the tentacle into the wall where Jake was a second ago – he dropped on the floor and rolled away, still not letting go of Jade’s hand and dragging her along. The creature followed him – _him_ , Jake understood quickly, not _them_ – so he pushed Jade away, while Dirk used its momentarily distraction to slam a glass case that used to cover the crown into it. The glass passed through the goo with an unpleasant sound of a plug being taken out of a sink, and collided with the wall, shattering into a million pieces, causing the spirit no harm; Jake and Jade barely dodged the splinters flying in all directions.

Jake flipped through the journal in haste, crumpling the pages and searching for a reverse spell he knew was written there – but another tendril hit right in the middle of the journal, covering it in black slime that the pages absorbed immediately, making everything unreadable.

“WHAT DO WE DO?!” Jake yelled, and the tendril hit him across the stomach and threw him onto the floor. The part of his clothes that came in contact with the goo darkened, like a lit cigarette was pressed to it.

“There is nothing you can do,” the spirit croaked, as if it was speaking with lungs full of water. Sollux Captor’s voice was unrecognisable.

“You can talk?!” Jake was so surprised, he forgot about the pain from the collision with the floor. Jade rushed to help him up.

“Ah, humans, as arrogant and vain as they were twenty centuries ago,” the spirit straightened the shoulders of his borrowed body; the streams of black liquid flew away from him and flowed into the other rooms of the museum, covering floors, walls and ceilings, burning furrows into the stone like lava. The trio stepped closer to each other, away from the sizzling melting stone.

“Maybe we could just talk peacefully?” Jake asked desperately in attempt to shift the situation in their favour, because right now it seemed hopeless wherever he looked. He squeezed Jade’s hand and Dirk’s elbow for support.

“Oh my god, are you for real?” Dirk muttered under his breath, and the spirit said, “Give me a reason to talk to little things like you and not just crush you.”

“Um...”

“Because you have been trapped here alone for an eternity, and we have set you free,” Jade stepped in, facing the spirit with a lot more courage than she really felt.

He inclined his head to put its face on the same level as hers, and hissed, “Don’t use the words you know no meaning of, human. There is no freedom in this form. I may not be bound to a material object, but I have to inhabit a body of a weakling whose physical constraints allow me to express a tiniest bit of what I really am, whose mind yielded without a fight the moment I touched it... Although the hatred he has for you,” a shapeless hand grew from the spirit's body and pointed at Jake, “is rather strong to feed off.”

The spirit tilted its head as if remembering something.

“He hates you for ruining his day. What a pathetic reason. Oh well,” the black streams gathered around it again, twisting around like a slow tornado, and shot at the trio. Dirk grabbed the twins’ necks and made them duck behind several glass displays that blew up and showered them with sharp splinters – they used the cover of the explosion to tumble into a dark corridor, running to the next room and slamming the door shut. The room had no light and Jake tripped on something, falling down and dragging Jade and Dirk along; the boys landed on the hard stone floor again, but Jade found her face in a soft cover of white fur.

“BEC!!” She shouted and locked the dog in a bear hug, without noticing the rifle he was carrying in his mouth until she released him.

“Thank you, boy,” she cocked the rifle with a pleasant _snap_.

Meanwhile Dirk grabbed Jake’s shoulders and lifted him off the floor. “Jake. Your journal has the reverse spell.”

Jake was still panting from all the running and adrenaline pumping through his veins, and he looked up at Dirk with wide eyes. “He – he destroyed it, you saw it!”

“Don’t you have a copy somewhere?”

“He doesn’t need a copy,” Jade said, looking at Jake seriously. “You’ve read it a million times, right? You have probably learned it by heart without even noticing.”

In his current state Jake wouldn’t even be able to remember his own last name, not to mention an incantation made of non-existent words with unreasonable pronunciation. He squeezed his eyes shut, but blood thumping in his head and the faraway noises of the spirit destroying the museum weren’t letting him concentrate. At least inhabiting a human body meant it was moving like a human and didn’t seem to possess an ability to fly or sense them.

“I suppose I can try...” He shook his head in attempt to clear his mind. “It starts with Helios, or Holius...”

“We believe in you,” Jade reassured and turned around.

“And we will shield you,” Dirk added, flipping the light switch on and looking around the room in search for anything resembling a blade. However, the only thing that could be used as a weapon there was a huge round copper shield, which he took off the wall, thinking that this way he could balance out Jade’s work.

“Offence,” Dirk pointed at Jade’s rifle. “Defence,” he raised the shield.

She nodded. “What about Bec?”

Dirk didn’t even consider Bec as an option, but he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Final line of defence.”

Bec seemed to understand what he meant, because he assumed a guarding pose immediately, placing his body between Jake and whatever menace could come his way. Jake had a hand pressed over his eyes, and was mouthing words silently with an expression of pained concentration.

A loud bang shook the building, and judging by the cracks in the ceiling Dirk figured the spirit has burst through it, seeking a way outside.

“Come on,” he beckoned Jake and Jade to come along towards the source of noise.

“Jake, stay here!” Jade commanded, and Jake looked at her with indignation, even though his hands were shaking.

“And do nothing? No way!”

“Your job is remembering the incantation,” Jade said, while Dirk walked through the corridor, now illuminated by the soft light of the night sky pouring through cracks and holes.

He quickly spotted the dark figure of the _thing_ (spirit, monster, demon? There will be time to figure out proper terminology later) climbing through the ceiling with the help of its tendrils, and grabbed the largest splinter from a shattered glass case with a free hand that started bleeding immediately. The important thing now was stopping it from getting outside.

He made a slicing motion, cutting off a tendril closest to him, that immediately dissolved into a sizzling mess, and the spirit turned around.

“Foolish human,” it growled. “You can defeat me now for I was the first to be awaken, but I won’t be the last.”

Dirk was met with black tendrils hitting him full force – his shield deflected them, but he slid a meter backwards, stumbling across Jade, who have finished arguing with Jake and now was pointing the rifle at the spirit with shaky hands. Dirk expected her to rake the incoming tendrils with fire, but to his surprise she lowered it.

“Why aren’t you shooting?” He asked, diverting the new attacks, operating an unfamiliar heavy weapon with difficulty, as well as trying to cut some of the tendrils with the splinter.

“What if the Sollux guy is still inside? It will kill him!”

Dirk remembered the way the spirit seemed to be able to access his thoughts: Jade had a point.

“Shoot at the tentacles then.”

She did as told, and even though a lot of bullets missed their targets, the next incoming attack fell into a million black drops of goo eventually.

“Tentacles, really?” She let out a giggle that sounded hysterical because of adrenaline and fear.

“You must agree, it is an appropriate name,” Dirk said, swinging the heavy shield around and cutting the tendril that aimed for Jade’s legs with its edge. His arms started to get tired. From now on he decided to never make an exception ever again and always bring the katana along, even if he had to hide it under his clothes.

“Hmm, guys, sorry to interrupt but... I think I am going to have to take the crown off him,” Jake whispered from behind.

“Have you remembered the words?” Jade twirled on one foot, glancing at Jake for a moment and turning back to shoot at more tendrils coming their way.

“Kind of, yes,” he answered uncertainly and stood between Dirk and Jade. “I have some doubt about a couple of words...”

“Read all of the variants then, one of them ought to be correct,” Dirk said and pushed the twins behind the shield, but this exposed his left hand and it got hit with a tendril. The air began smelling of burnt fabric and flesh. Jade shot at the spirit, but it protected itself by constructing a shield out of intervening streams.

“I don’t know this particular ritual, but usually the counter-spell is performed by a person who read the original, so I need to be the one to take the crown off,” Jake continued whispering rapidly, afraid the spirit could overhear their plans. “And I need to repeat everything that was done before I read it, like the pose or emotions, I don’t know if it’ll help, but–”

“And the blood,” Dirk added suddenly without losing focus of the fight. “He cut your finger when taking the crown. Maybe you’ll need blood too.”

“Oh goodness, I didn’t even think about it! You are so–”

“Jake, FOCUS!!” Jade barked.

“Right, yes. Now where can I get blood?...” He looked around at loss, when suddenly Bec grabbed his hand and bit hard. “Ouch!! I mean... Thanks, Bec.”

Without wasting a second, he cradled the hand dripping with blood and started muttering all possible pronunciations of the ciphered words, praying he could get lucky and hit a bullseye with one. Vaguely remembering the way they were positioned the moment everything went down, he tried to feel the same stubborn determination to proof something to a disbelieving man who was now a living proof of a thing he didn’t believe in. Dirk’s shield and Jade’s rifle protected him from the shiny tendrils, but there were too many, and one managed to wrap around his chest tightly – Jake gasped, feeling it burning a hole in his clothes and reaching the skin, but while it dragged him closer to the spirit, he managed to grab the crown, smearing blood everywhere he could reach.

“Wait till you meet the Supreme Mistress,” the spirit croaked, “You will suffer so much that this,” it squeezed him tighter, and it felt like live coals against bare skin, “will seem like a pleasant hug from your sister–”

“SHUT UP!” Jade screamed and shot – at the same second Dirk stuck the splinter under the crown, trying to lift it – the tendril released Jake, and he pulled at the crown with all his strength, and it finally yielded and came off with an unpleasant _plop,_ falling onto the floor. Instantly the black goo all around the museum rushed back into it, like the crown was sucking it in, and within a second the final strand of black disappeared with an almost human wail, and everything was over.

Ringing silence settled in the room, with only noise being discordant harsh breaths the trio drew in as they stared at each other, and the distant sound of the waterfall. Jade was the first one to remember that there was a fourth person in the room with them, and she rushed to Sollux Captor’s motionless body.

“He’s alive,” she felt his pulse. “Just unconscious.”

Jake signed in relief – the movement caused his chest to explode with pain again, and he looked down to see bright red marks crossing it. His shirt was shredded into a useless rug.

“He needs a hospital, it's like a magic fainting, I have no idea what to do it this situation...” Jade rubbed her forehead. She didn’t seem to have any significant damage, but she looked extremely ragged and disoriented, her hair was sticking in all directions. “There was a woman too, he knocked her out... Bec, check on her, please?”

“I’ll go with him,” Dirk said. His left shoulder was burnt, his hand was bleeding, and his clothes were in even poorer state, although somehow he managed to keep his shades off during this whole ordeal. He and Bec left the room, navigating through the debris.

Jake hesitated to touch the crown at first, but picked it up anyway. “What should we do with this?”

“Is that... thing... still in there?” Jade asked, eyeing it distrustfully.

“I think so,” Jake said, twisting it in his hands. “The reverse spell is designed to do as such – to re-establish the status quo until the releasing spell is conjured again.”

“Don’t you dare. Play with spells. Like this. Ever again.”

She emphasized each sentence with a jab at Jake’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I didn’t know this is how... I didn’t know,” Jake looked at the crown thoughtfully. “It’s a shame we didn’t ask what he was the spirit of though.”

“ _That_ is your question, are you fucking serious?” Dirk appeared in the doorway, looking like he would’ve slapped his forehead if he wasn’t holding an unconscious woman. Bec jogged along, carrying something in his mouth. “We found your journal. It’s unreadable, but still, maybe you want it.”

“Thank you,” Jake ran his fingers over the pages that looked like someone spilled an entire bottle of ink on them.

“Is she okay?” Jade took the woman’s face in her hands gently and checked her eyes – she knew a thing or two about medicine.

“Should be alive,” Dirk said; his tone of voice showed that he lacked any medical knowledge.

“You are hurt too,” Jade pointed at Dirk’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we have a first aid kit in the dirigible.”

“I’m fine,” Dirk waved her off, staring at the crown.

“We should take the crown,” Jake said suddenly, and the two turned to face him. “What if there is someone else who knows the spell and it falls into wrong hands? The management won’t let us take it, of course, so...”

“So you propose we steal it,” Jade tilted her head.

“Well, yes, but no, we are not stealing – we are _helping_. Taking the danger away from the innocent.”

“I agree, after all, it’s for the greater good.”

“Dirk, what do you think?” Jake looked at him, wondering if he was at all scared. Probably not, he didn’t seem like that kind of a person.

“Agreed. It will be safer with someone who knows what it’s capable of.”

***

Their first priority was to drop the two guards at the hospital – they had to lie about finding them lying on the ground to avoid being questioned, they certainly weren’t ready to tell everyone the truth – and leaving them some money that they hoped would cover the damage. While Jake, Jade, and Dirk carried the two, Bec was entrusted with hiding the crown in the dirigible.

As soon as they were done (Jake left a note saying they were “terribly sorry for all the horrible experiences they forced them to go though”, along with a thick pack of bills), they reunited in the dirigible and finally started to tend to their wounds. Jake’s whole body ached and he felt like one gigantic bruise, and now he was trying to apply ointment of his burnt back.

“Well, if nobody’s going to address the elephant in the room, I guess I’ll have to,” Jade said, breaking the silence. “So magic is real, and nobody knows about it but us.”

“Yes, I’d say even _too_ real,” Jake winced, accidentally touching the most painful spot. “But I don’t think we are the only ones knowing, there’s gotta be tons of magicians.”

“If those magicians knew anything, I’m sure they would tell the world and everyone would be buzzing with truth. If there are any, they must be hiding,” Jade took pity on Jake and helped him slap a bandage on his back, so that he could finally put an intact shirt on.

Jake petted Bec, who stuck his head in Jake’s knees – this was his way of apologizing for biting his hand, and probably also for not bringing his guns. However, this was something Jake expected; if there was a choice between him and Jade, Bec always picked the latter.

“Anyway,” Jade continued. “Let me just say that what we did there was fucking metal.”

“Don’t cuss,” Jake said automatically.

“Oops, I meant it was incredibly indescribably amazing, I’m so fucking sorry!” Jade smacked him on the back of the head, and settled next to Bec. “Dirk, say something too, your opinion is valued in this group.”

Dirk rubbed his shoulder with a bandaged hand absent-mindedly. “I think it’s weird.”

“You don’t say,” Jade replied sarcastically.

“What I mean is, it was too easy to do – what should I call it, a magic act? Jake said the incantation was the translation of the symbols written on the crown,” he said thoughtfully, and Jake nodded in agreement. “The crown is a famous cultural heritage, and the legend is well-known to certain circles of people as well, and you are trying to tell me that in a thousand years after the crown was found there wasn’t one person who figured out the combination of the simplest things, not one kid became obsessed with the legend so much they’d put the crown on, splash some blood onto it, and read the incantation in a million different ways? It doesn’t make any sense. You said that Mr. and Mrs. Harley worked with translators, but you can’t imply that they were the _only_ translators in the world to figure it out?” He took a deep breath. “These are the problems I have with the current situation.”

Jake opened his mouth to answer, but found himself at loss of words. He understood that Dirk was technically right, but honestly, he had no desire to look into such little inconsistencies. Did they really matter in a grand scheme of things, compared to the fact that magic was totally _real_ and they were the ones to discover it? It was certainly the most exciting discovery Jake had in his whole life, and not even the bandages currently slapped on his burnt skin could spoil his enthusiasm; if anything, they amplified it.

“Maybe it was a coincidence, like the spell can only be performed during a full moon, or in June... Maybe the place was special,” he suggested.

“Besides, you heard the spirit,” Jade added. “It said it was the first to be awoken, meaning we really were the first to discover it.”

“Frankly, I feel like you are overthinking it,” Jake finished.

"Or maybe the blood was special..." Dirk sighed and leaned against the wall. “If only we had someone to consult on the matter.”

“Like a sorcerer? I will check Grandma’s diaries and see if she mentioned a name of the translator they worked with,” he recalled the date that used to be written in the now destroyed journal and took a diary corresponding with it. The date he searched for contained a short trivial paragraph about buying new furniture with Grandpa, so Jake began looking through the earlier entries.

“In the meantime I’ll look here,” Jade said, opening the Yellow Pages.

“You think you are going to find a real magician using this?” Dirk asked.

“Why not? It has the ‘Magic & Fortunetelling’ category. Although no doubt many of these are fake...” She buried herself in the book.

“Argh, there’s nothing here!” Jake shut the diary in frustration. “Only the standard stuff – I saw this, I saw that, Joss’s moustache is groovy, Halley is misbehaving, we went on a picnic, we went to a therapist... Why did they even need a therapist, they were the least problematic people ever!”

Jake put the diary on the table and glared at it.

Jade gasped and held out the Yellow Pages victoriously.

“O-o-or maybe what they needed was the Tentacle Therapist, a practising magician?” She poked her finger at the little segment in the Magic category.

“You found it? No way!” Jake looked at his sister with wide eyes, already buzzing with excitement at the prospect of meeting a real magician.

“Alright-o, we know our next destination then, and it is...” She looked at the address indicated under the name Tentacle Therapist, “Hey, Dirk, we are going back to Avis!”

“Good, I need to have a word with Equius,” Dirk nodded in contemplation.

Jake felt a sudden sting of worry, remembering their agreement about one trip and thinking that Dirk wanted to go home.

That wasn’t something Jake was ready for.

He cleared his throat, words piling up in his mouth.

“You know, if you want, you can stay for longer, to, uh, study magic with us, I mean, to find out what other hidden magical things exist in the world, you know the legend mentions twelve, so we can find out how truthful the legend is, all that stuff...” He came to halt, glancing at Jade who was watching him with extreme amusement.

He hated the idea of Dirk leaving, especially after everything they saw together, they worked so well, and had the connection, and he really, genuinely liked someone this much outside his family for the first time ever –

“No way I’m going to abandon this magical quest now,” Dirk said calmly, interrupting the swarm of panicky thoughts. “I just hope Mr. Zahhak and Miss Leijon won’t think I’ve made it up just to skip work.”

Jake breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s why we need to find this Tentacle Therapist person first.”

Even if Jake ignored the selfish reason he wanted Dirk to be on board, he also realized he would be a valuable asset for the team: a strategist, who seemed to know that fighting wasn't just about the strength of a right hook.

“Welcome aboard SkaiaNet, the airship of the demon hunters!” Jade exclaimed, throwing her fist in the air. “Crew, set the controls to Avis! Oh, and Jake… I suppose I owe you an apology, for teasing you about magic all this time.”

She smiled sheepishly. Jake felt a little proud to be right about something Jade didn’t believe in, but merely returned her smile.

“No need to apologize. But…” He inhaled deeply and clasped his hands together, unable to sit still. “Magic though! Real life magic!! That was a doozy of a battle we've just partook in!”

He was bubbling with excitement that didn’t want to calm down, and judging by the way Jade grinned and exclaimed, “I know!”, she was too.

It felt great to say those words with confidence that was more than a simple belief now; Jake knew Jade must share the joy of a new discovery as well, and he hoped that’s what Dirk felt too.

And so, all four of them stood in the cockpit, watching the ground float away, too consumed by enjoying their victory to care about leaving one ruined museum and two hurt people behind.

***

Unlike Centaur Technologies, Tentacle Therapist’s house was situated on the edge of the city; it would take a couple of hours to get from one to another. The building itself was pure black, not a speck of colour was visible, giving a mysterious vibe of a haunted house. Jake could imagine ghosts and vampires hiding in every corner.

Jake knocked on the door and it creaked open by itself without anyone on the other side. A puff of smoke flew in their faces, and a mysterious whisper swept over them, saying, “Come in.”

“Magic,” Jake whispered in awe, and Dirk scoffed.

The narrow corridor inside was completely black as well; the little light that was there allowed them to make out the silhouettes of herbs and cool looking skulls on the walls; Bec navigated them so that they won’t bump into anything in the dark. The house smelled strongly of rosemary.

“Where do we go now?” Jade whispered, as if not wanting to disturb the house. Once something was proven to her, she was quick to accept it, whether it was magic or a house of a real witch.

“You have already arrived to your destination,” the shadows said, and Jake flinched. “For every step you take is on a path you are destined to take, towards the finish line scribed in clouds of the omniscient skies.”

A light flickered, a dim flame of a candle evinced a silhouette of a young woman, and they started, realizing that they didn’t notice her standing so close.

Soft yellow light made the woman’s hair shine golden, the sun-shaped hair clip was sparkling in a magical way, the shadows cast on her face made her look like a ghost, and Jake thought that yes, indeed, they found a real witch, they were not mistaken.

“With this, I can help you,” the woman continued, still holding on that mysterious tone of hers. “If you would like to know what the road you walk is paved with, my crystal ball will tell the truth. Tentacle Therapist welcomes you, travellers.”

Jake held his breath, regarding the beautiful woman in awe, but Dirk hummed and said, “Thanks, I'm good.”

It was clear that the entourage didn’t convince him.

“Mrs. Maryam, if I understand correctly?” He said, and the woman’s eyebrows shot up instantly.

“Maryam, where did this come from?”

“A year ago you commissioned Centaur Technologies to make the set of doors with remote control and sound system that would, and I quote from your project papers here, ‘look spooky and make people want to run away screaming’. Believe me, I can recognise my own work under any circumstances.”

Jake sulked immediately, as if the fact that the doors weren’t magical was a personal offense to him.

The woman seemed absolutely unruffled; she put the candle on a tiny table and crossed her armed on her chest elegantly.

“Oops, looks like I’m busted,” she said nonchalantly. “Mr. Dirk Strider, I presume? I thought you looked familiar somehow. I suppose a thank you is expected from me in this situation, after all, your systems have never let us down, just as expected from Centaur Technologies.”

“Glad to hear our reputation has travelled as far as the edge of the city,” Dirk said, inclining his head in reply.

“Does it mean you are not a real magician, after all?” Jake asked, disappointed.

“Of course I am real,” she answered. “But magic is incorporeal, and people find it easier to believe something they can see. In any case, you got my name wrong,” she turned to Dirk again. “Mrs. Maryam is my wife, and she is in charge of all financial operations in this household. My real name is Rose Lalonde.”

Jake’s mouth fell open the moment he heard her last name. She must be somehow related to Roxy and her mother. He nudged Jade eagerly, but she only replied with a confused stare. Of course, she didn’t spend as much time with Mrs. Lalonde and Roxy as he did, she probably didn’t remember their last names.

“Remember Roxy, Jane’s friend?” He hissed. “She was a Lalonde too.”

“Excuse me?” Rose said with demonstrative politeness, and Jake suddenly remembered it was rude to converse in whispers when other people were around.

“Sorry, I was just saying that I know Roxy Lalonde from Sandford. Is she your relative?”

“She is my cousin. And you are?...”

“Jake English, Jade Harley, and Becquerel,” Jake pointed at the owners of respective names, and Rose frowned, deep in thought.

“I don’t believe she ever mentioned knowing you. And she always writes me letters about her friends, maybe even too much.”

“I was a long, long time ago,” Jake explained, because it was easier than telling the whole story.

'Friends' was too strong of a word to describe their relationship, because the only reason Jake talked to Roxy was being Jane’s boyfriend, which was a shame, because she seemed to be a swell girl on her own. Maybe he should have pursued a friendship with her. Or maybe the fact that he didn’t was for the best – it would be too awkward after his breakup with Jane.

Jade cleared her throat. “Not that getting to know each other wasn’t terrific, but guys, we came here for another reason, remember? To talk about a certain thing that happened?”

“I am all ears,” Rose said and turned the normal light on, apparently deciding creating a mysterious atmosphere was no use anymore. The room they were in stopped being creepy and now looked like an old shack instead. They saw that Rose had short blond hair, mesmerizing bright purple eyes, and wore dark lipstick. Judging by the long brocade dress and countless gemstones glimmering in the hair clip, she was a very wealthy woman.

“Even for a sorceress like you, Rose, our story may sound weird,” Jade began. “But please do your best to trust us even though we don’t have much proof except for our words–”

“We saw a spirit possessing a guy!” Jake blurted out, unable to wait for Jade to finish her preamble. Rose’s eyebrows rose, and she looked more invested than ever.

“Yes, and your name, or alias, was mentioned in our Grandma’s journal, that’s why we are here... Wait a second,” Jade stopped and frowned suddenly. “You can’t be the Therapist Grandma was talking out, you are too young!”

And Jake understood where she was coming from – Rose Lalonde looked like she was about twenty-five years old. She wasn’t even born yet at the date Grandma wrote about. Jake felt disappointed again – so Rose was a sham after all? Judging by the way Dirk was looking at her, he certainly thought so.

“Your grandmother must have talked to the previous Tentacle Therapist,” Rose answered. Apparently, nothing could confuse or puzzle her. “You see, Tentacle Therapist is not just a name, it’s a legacy, a stratum of unique knowledge and ways of living that was passed from generation to generation for centuries. It is as old as the Legend of Twelve Spirits – you must be familiar with it?”

“We’ve heard something,” Dirk said, and Jade giggled.

“This is the origins of this name. When true magic ceased existing, the magicians of that time chose a person to carry on telling the truth that wasn’t allowed to be written. When that person got old, they chose someone worthy to become them, and it continued through millennia, until several years ago an old witch died and I inherited her knowledge and name,” Rose said proudly. “What I want to say is you can trust me with your secrets. I was brought up for the sake of keeping them.”

There was something is her voice that could win the toughest, most distrustful person over and make them spill their guts. It was a voice of... well, a therapist.

In any case, they had no reason to make their story secret (perhaps only the part about stealing the crown), so without further ado Jake set on telling about their misadventures, with occasional comments from Jade and Dirk. All throughout the story Rose didn’t say a word, but when he was done, she gave them a genuine smile, so unlike the cool demeanour they witnessed before.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” she said and sighed dreamingly. “My entire life was studying magic in theory, and finally there is tangible proof and people who experienced it... Thank you.”

“But all we did was tell the story, how is this tangible?” Jade asked.

“You described the rituals – and they are exactly as I know they should be.”

“You said earlier that you were a real magician,” Dirk said. Apparently, he still didn’t trust her. “Why do you say you’ve only studied it in theory?”

“Yeah,” Jake added. “Show us a magic trick, you can do it, right?”

“Circus clowns do tricks, not magicians,” Rose pursed her lips together. “Magicians can only perform magic with objects containing it, since we have nowhere to draw our own from anymore. Follow me, you deserve to know everything about how modern day magic works.”

She beckoned them to follow her back through the entrance, outside on the street.

“This is a normal entrance Kanaya and I use,” she explained after they went around the house through a prosaic wicket in a white picket fence and followed Rose to the backyard where she welcomed them to sit in wooden rocking chairs decorated with colourful spreads of fabric.

A black cat sprinted past them, and Rose tensed for a moment, glancing at Bec, but he was smart enough to know cats didn’t deserve his attention.

“I will start by saying you should have bought a lottery ticket that day, it had so many lucky coincidences,” Rose smiled again. “You had the spell that somehow worked, you accidentally performed a ritual, and were lucky enough to remember the counter-spell. I wish I could ask the vessel about his experience...” She mused. “Can you remember the incantation you used?”

“Of course!” Jake answered and wrote it down – he may had troubles remembering the counter-spell, but the spell itself was read so many times, it might as well be a tattoo on his brain.

Rose thanked him and pocketed a piece of paper he gave her, promising to look into it later.

“Where do I begin with the history of magic,” Rose sat in an armchair and clasped her hands. “As you have already figured out, the legend of twelve spirits is real, and although some elements are exaggerated for dramatic storytelling, the others are true, for example the barrier between two realms. Contrary to some versions of the legend, the spirits and the humans didn’t coexist – there were constant battles between the worlds – but both sides could enter the other’s realm if they wished to. Thus, the matter of both worlds was transpierced with magic.”

She took a thin rake lying nearby and stirred up the water in the pond. The silt arose from the bottom, and the water became opaque immediately.

“Imagine that the particles of silt are like the molecules of air we breathe – only on another, non-physical plane of reality. This is what reality looked like before the barrier, magical energy was seeping from the spirit realm, and all magicians had to do was take it and use it as they pleased.”

Rose took a tray from the table and stuck it in the pond in parallel with the water line, so that there were only a couple of centimetres of water left above it. After a while the water became clear, with only a bit of silt settling on the tray’s surface.

“The barrier sealed it off completely, the magicians made sure to leave all spiritual beings on the other side. This,” she pointed at the leftover silt, “is the only magical energy we have left in our realm right now. All of it is locked in secure containers, that’s why we can’t use it directly. It’s common knowledge that one can only use the contained energy for acts correlating with an object in question, for example, for freeing or trapping the spirit locked in it, like you did. Theoretically, other small acts of magic are possible to be performed using the crown, but I need to study it closer to say which ones for certain. Although you shouldn’t get your hopes up and expect something extravagant, those would be some minor acts. For instance, I can only use my crystal ball for clairvoyance to get accurate, but still vague predictions. I inherited the crystal ball from the previous Tentacle Therapist, and it is one of the twelve enchanted objects from the legend.”

“It is?! Have you tried summoning the spirit?!” Jade and Jake exclaimed in unison, and Rose smiled, pleased with their reaction.

“It’s not a wise thing to do,” she answered. “But I admit that I tried when I was younger. It's never worked, obviously, perhaps there was something missing. How did an idea of testing the spell came to you? Didn’t you think that letting a spirit loose in a museum was a bad idea?”

“I’ve always known that magic existed,” Jake said thoughtfully. “But I failed when I tried to read the spell before, and I guess this time I believed this would work, but I also didn’t believe it, but it worked anyway...”

Jade groaned. “Wow, look at these choice words. And this guy is a writer, imagine that.”

“A writer, really?” Rose asked, interested. “And what about you, Jade, if you don’t mind telling?”

“I’m an amateur botanist.”

Rose nodded in appreciation. “That explains why you can allow yourselves to travel around the world and free ancient spirits for fun. But what about you, Mr. Strider, why aren’t you working? Is CT doing that badly?”

“I’m on vacation,” he replied flatly.

“Hunting spirits, sounds like a good vacation.”

“Isn’t this how all Avis citizens relax?”

“As an Avis citizen I can state with one hundred percent confidence our vacations involve three times more spirits than those of an average person,” Rose smirked.

“Can we see your crystal ball?” Jade asked, and Jake nodded eagerly.

Rose agreed, went home, and soon came back with a small sphere on a stone prop, and an encyclopedia of the world’s wonders. Jake grabbed the sphere immediately and started inspecting the carvings on the prop; Jade thrust her weight on Jake’s shoulder, Dirk carefully leaned over the other, and even Bec became interested in what they were looking at and put his head on Jake’s knees.

“Can you predict our future?” Jade asked, tapping the crystal ball. It wasn’t perfectly round, the edges were rough; apparently, it was cut out of a bigger piece of crystal.

“Later. This is not a good place for a ritual,” Rose replied, opened the chapter about the Empress’s crown, and pulled out the paper with the spell that Jake gave her.

She frowned, comparing the pictures in the book with the paper, and finally said: “I knew there was something off about your situation. Are you sure this is the correct incantation, Jake?”

“As sure as I am about being Jade’s brother. Why?”

“Your translation is incorrect,” Rose said, bringing the encyclopedia so close to her face her nose pressed at the pages.

“Incorrect?” Dirk asked. “But it worked.”

“Exactly!” Rose stuck her finger in the air victoriously. “Many linguists of different centuries studied the translation and their results were all the same, the same spell everyone has always known, including all Tentacle Therapists, but this… Oh, this is brilliant.”

She closed her eyes, speaking with barely contained excitement.

“They changed the origin source! When the magicians of the past decided to hide the objects from the Empress, not only did they scatter them around the world, they also changed the symbols, giving the spirits an extra level of security, preventing everyone from using them! It also explains why I couldn’t do anything with the incantation on the crystal ball,” a wide smile lit up Rose’s face, almost us bright as her hair clip shining in sunlight. “At least that’s what I reckon happened. The important question now is how the correct spell ended up in your journal.”

Jake exchanged glances with Jade – they didn’t have an answer to this question. They have always assumed their grandparents got the translation from linguists, and as they learned yesterday, Tentacle Therapist was their translator, but Rose assured her predecessors knew nothing. The origins of the translation remained a mystery.

“Maybe it was another lucky coincidence?” Jade suggested, and Rose shook her head.

“Accidentally performing a spirit unbounding ritual can be called a coincidence, the rituals were generally easy to conduct even for the least skilful magicians... Well, except for the spirit of Light. The _words_ played the most important part in the incantation, those are sets of complex syllables and intonations holding the layers of meaning forever lost to us. One should make a conscious effort to do a correct translation. The only explanation I see here is your grandparents somehow laid their hands on the source of the truth, but chose to keep it in secret,” she sighed. “If only I knew what this source is…”

“We don’t know, but the others could…” Dirk said thoughtfully.

“What are you getting at?” Jake asked. “You think we should ask around?”

“No, I’m just saying that if the others knew the real working spell, they could decide it will be ultra fun to free the spirit, thus dooming the world. Or not,” he shrugged. “I don’t really know the extent of their powers.”

Rose drummed her fingers on the table. “No, ‘the world is doomed’ is pretty accurate.”

“Can you do something about it?” Jade asked.

Jake hoped Rose would say yes, because naturally, the promises of the end of the world made him nervous, so he added, “But nothing happened for centuries, what are the chances this will happen now?”

The drumming continued. “The chances are still there. Perhaps… In a hypothetical situation of someone finding the correct incantation and releasing the spirit, what can save us is a counter-spell conjured immediately after, before any damage is done. But to be able to produce a counter-spell one should know the original spell, which is tricky, firstly because we don’t know where the other ten objects are, and secondly because we don’t know to which extent the spell was changed.”

“Can the crystal ball help somehow?” Dirk asked.

“It doesn’t answer direct questions,” Rose said. “What we are going to do is research. Finally the library that takes up the entire third floor in our house will be put to practical use.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer to destroy it?” Jade said.

“Didn’t you read the legend?” Rose asked. “The vessels are indestructible.”

“Can’t you snap your magical fingers and make them destructible?” Dirk asked.

Rose stared at him like she couldn’t believe they were breathing the same air.

“Can _you_ just snap your fingers and make a hot air balloon out of thin air? No? It’s the same with magic. You two,” she pointed at Jade and him, “should learn more about the legend and laws of magic, now that you are involved with it.”

“I am going to make sure they do,” Jake said; he couldn’t help but feel a little proud – even though he’s never competed with Jade in anything, she has always been better at things, and Dirk was obviously a brainiac, so it felt nice to be better than them in something.

“What is the reason for it not being possible? If magic has laws, there must be one,” Dirk asked.

“It’s something like a spirit’s self-preservation instinct, it enhances the object’s durability so that no one could destroy it in its weakened state. Then again, theoretically something can be done, look here again, for example,” she pointed at the particles of silt on the tray. “This is the magic in our realm, but do you know what’s under?”

“Gee, could it be another silt metaphor?” Dirk said, and Rose smiled.

“Right you are, without anywhere else to go, there is a lot of magical energy accumulated on the other side, and this is what will happen if it comes into our world again,” she took a table the tray used to lie on and threw it into the pond, causing a huge splash that doused everyone in cold water that smelled like seaweed; Jake let out an undignified yelp and fell backwards, spilling the tea all over the grass. Dirk made a disgusted sound and emptied his cup, which had some weeds stuck in it, into the pond.

“Thanks for the demonstration,” Jade grimaced, plucking a lily pad off her chest. “Are you suggesting we breach the barrier?”

“So far, I don’t know any methods that would allow me to do so, but such kind of outburst would hypothetically allow me to use the incoming energy to affect the vessels. I need to look more into it to give you a more assertive answer,” she gazed intently at the table that was now floating in the pond, but showed no inclination for wanting to remove it. Even when Bec shook the water off on her in revenge, she didn’t seem to notice, too engrossed in thought.

“One more thing you should know,” Rose continued, finally tearing her gaze away from the pond. “The spirit didn’t have any real supernatural powers and was so easy to defeat because it was the first one to be awaken. If we look at the water and silt metaphor again–”

Jake deserted the scarf he was trying to wring out and waved his hands rapidly. “Much obliged, but we can understand without the visuals!”

Rose shrugged and sat back in her armchair. “The field of magical energy has been undisturbed for two thousand years, everything was peaceful and quiet. Now you are brushing the dust off the good old real magic, and every new awoken spirit will be more powerful than the preceding. Just a heads up for you, the next time you meet a spirit you should be prepared for a lot more than you have experienced,” she entwined her fingers and gazed at them seriously.

“Do you believe this is what we should do, search for the other vessels?” Dirk asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “It would be the best route to take. If you collect all of them you will be able to keep them from falling into wrong hands, and in the meantime I am going to work out a way to destroy them. I will study the crystal ball closer, and if you don’t mind, I am going to ask you to give me your grandmother’s journals, there might be some clues there.”

A huge grin spread on Jake’s face; it seemed like they have accidentally landed up with a Mission.

Jake exchanged glances with Jade and Dirk, remembering the conversation the three of them had about whether they should tell the Tentacle Therapist they have got the crown; both of them gave tiny nods of silent agreement that Rose can be trusted, and Jake spoke again.

“You might also want to have this,” he took the bag off his shoulder and unzipped it, revealing the crown inside.

When Rose caught a sight of it, she let out a reverent sigh and carefully took it into her arms, marvelling at the ancient symbols.

“I can’t believe it, I am holding the second and last known magical object with my own hands,” she looked at them with wide shining eyes. “This is worth becoming a criminal for. Look at how complex the carvings are, you can feel the magician’s hand working on them, scratching the real incantation and replacing it with the new one… This is magnificent.”

She even sniffled a little, and Jake couldn’t understand whether she was mocking them or if she really felt so deeply touched, but in any case, Rose Lalonde the magic nerd was so much better than Tentacle Therapist the mysterious name.

“We entrust you to keep it safe,” Jade said.

“It will do a bang up job being safe without my help, but I promise to keep an eye on it and pull as much information out of it as possible. I should repay you with something,” she said and waved her hand dismissively when Jade and Jake started to protest. “No, I insist. I will give you some of my books that I have already read from cover to cover, you need to learn a lot more about magic anyway.”

Jake thanked her and asked, “How do we contact you if we find something?”

Despite Rose being a valuable asset, he wasn’t planning on inviting her along. For purely selfish reasons, if he was frank with himself, he was a man of the first impression; and his first impression of Rose was that of an intelligent, well-mannered lady, but she didn’t have something that made her worthy of intruding their sacred space. He didn’t know what that _‘something’_ was, but amount of people having it was next to nothing. Dirk had it, an unexplainable feeling Jake associated with love at first sight, if you substitute the word ‘love’ with ‘wanting to invite him to share their adventures’; and maybe if he ever met his idols, Aradia Megido and Eridan Ampora, he would feel this too, but he might never know. He could also ask Jade, her opinion was the most important, but he knew that she felt the same. They have always felt the same things about people or situations, ever since they were little kids.

“Telegraph would be the best option,” Rose answered. “It’s the fastest, and if you have an emergency question, I will always answer right away.”

“Alright, we are going to send you messages from wherever we will be at.”

“You sure?” Dirk asked sceptically. “Are you planning on searching for a post office every time you need to talk to Mrs. Lalonde–”

“Rose, please.”

“–to Rose, even if we are going to be in the air?”

“Um, well, there is a ton of post offices around the world…”

“I’ll do you one better, if I can tinker with the dirigible again,” Dirk grabbed the paper Jake used to write the spell on and started sketching something rapidly on the other side. “How does a radio transmitter that will intercept the telegraphic messages sound? This way we will be having our own post office, but without any lines or rude workers. I will make one for you too, Rose, this way our communication will be direct.”

Jake stared at a bunch of lines Dirk drew that didn’t make any sense but looked important, and once again was convinced that Dirk was brilliant.

“Sounds illegal,” Rose arched one eyebrow.

“You’ve literally just become a crime accomplice by accepting the crown,” Dirk replied in kind.

Rose laughed and shook her head. “Objection accepted. Criminal mastermind is in the house.”

“And, since it’s pretty illegal, we’d better not use our real names anywhere from now on,” Dirk added.

“I agree,” Jade said. “What if a bad guy finds out about what we do and tries to stop us? Rose already has an alias, we need one too.”

“Something inconspicuous and forgettable to blend in with the population, something like John Henry Smith.”

Jade nodded seriously.

Jake barely resisted a groan. Scratch the brilliance, they both had no imagination.

“This is an abhorrent idea!” Jake exclaimed. “Even if we leave out the obvious lack of imagination and use your beloved logical reasoning, there is a ton of John Smiths, how will Rose know which one is supposed to be us? We can’t ask her to write ‘John Smith, the one who stole the crown’ in the addressee section, can we now?”

Jade shrugged. “You have a point.”

“Give me a minute and I will come with an alias not only unique, but meaningful too,” Jake said, racking his brains in search for a name said qualities would apply to. What would an adventure protagonist choose? Certainly a name of someone important. Maybe he should use the names of his idols, or Jade’s idols. Or Dirk’s idols… He really should ask who his idols are. Wait, he said that he admires the Harleys, but that’s a tad awkward, he’s got to have someone else… Jake shook his head, making a mental note of asking him later, and getting back on track with the alias.

“I know, I know!” He exclaimed finally, bursting with joy. “Dace Hagler! D from Dirk, A from Jade, C from Bec, and E from Jake, the same with the surnames except for Bec who doesn’t have one!”

Jake glanced at the group hopefully and earned approving pat on the back from Jade.

“It’s settled then, let me know if you suddenly come up with something you deem even more creative,” Rose said and stood up. “Now, about the books I promised, I think I should get you started with Spate’s Catalogue and Tobin’s Spirit Guide; generally I despise publicists’ approach to magic, but these two are fairly decent, then you should definitely read Complacency of the Learned...”

She continued talking as they went back to the house and entered a giant library – Rose wasn’t kidding when she said it took up an entire floor – she also wasn’t kidding about wanting them to learn more about magic, that’s why she loaded their hands with multiple thick volumes. Jake’s vision was completely blocked by a stock of books, and Rose stopped only after he said the dirigible wouldn’t be able to get up with all the extra weight.

Rose was in the middle of showing them a safe she was going to keep the crown in when another voice resounded through the house.

“Rose, dear, why is there a table and a rake in the pond? Were you telling someone about magic again?”

Rose looked like a child being caught by their scolding mother with their hand in a cookie jar, and shoved more books in their arms in haste. That’s how they met Kanaya Maryam, who gave the same vibe of a respectful lady as Rose, but with even more refined and aristocratic manners. Rose told them Kanaya worked for the government as a deputy director in the Internal Revenue Service. She insisted they stayed for tea, and they ended up retelling the story of their adventures once more, because, to Jake’s surprise, apparently married people were like siblings and didn’t keep secrets away from each other.

This somehow spiralled into discussing weaponry; they laughed at Kanaya when she said she preferred a chainsaw to a bullet, although Jake made a mental note of never ever upsetting her.

While Dirk was talking to Kanaya about swordsmanship, and Jake was eavesdropping on their conversation, interjecting with occasional comments about how they should never forget that guns were pretty amazing too, Jade convinced Rose to let them use their backyard as a shooting range.

“We need practice, and it’s dangerous to do so in the dirigible,” she said. “When I was shooting at that spirit I hit it only by accident.”

Jake perked up immediately, happy for a chance to show everyone what a real gun can do; they pinned sheets of paper on a couple of trees, drew targets on them, and got into positions almost a hundred metres away.

Dirk, Rose, and Kanaya were observing them like judges in the ice skating competition, sipping their tea nonchalantly. Bec was lying nearby and managed to look like a judge too.

The first round was so horrendously bad Jake wished he could eradicate it from his memory; they barely hit the targets, let alone the bullseyes. During the second round Jake managed to strike the centre and was so excited it caused the other bullets to miss the tree completely. He heard Dirk saying something to Rose quietly, and she giggled.

Jake’s heart sank – he could handle Rose or Kanaya forming an unfavourable opinion about him, since he’s just met them, but it was Dirk’s opinion that mattered to him, even after mere weeks of knowing him (it’s been almost a month already, really?). Practically every word Dirk said revealed him as a master of cool, and Jake didn’t want to fail on all levels in front of a man like this.

“Don’t overthink it and don’t show off, you will do fine,” Jade whispered while they were loading their guns for the next round.

“Who is showing off, I’m not showing off,” Jake mumbled, flushing a little. So what if he wanted to look dashing and spent some time before each shot thinking about what pose to strike to look like an adventure novel cover.

“Hey, I don’t blame you, the peanut gallery consists of total dreamboats today. It’s easy to lose your head,” she winked at him, and Jake rolled his eyes to avoid eye contact.

“You are only saying this because you haven’t hit one bullseye,” he hissed, and it was Jade’s turn to do the eye-roll.

“Well excuse me for not practising for months,” she snapped her rifle shut. “At least I’ve fought the spirit. And I will totally dominate you in the next round.”

They were getting better and better, with each round remembering how to shoot properly, and in the end more than a half of their bullets was hitting the targets clearly in the centre. In the end they had to wrap up, because the sun started descending, and Jake felt like they were intruding on Rose’s and Kanaya’s hospitality.

Surprisingly, when they finished taking the targets off and packing the guns, they found Dirk, Rose, and Kanaya counting money carefully.

“Good job, I won twenty quid for us,” Dirk waved a bunch of bills at Jake when he slumped into an armchair next to him.

“You placed bets on us?” Jake asked.

“Of course, someone had to make sure you have funds to compensate for all those wasted bullets,” he said, and Jake laughed.

The last thing they did though was watch Rose demonstrate the power of clairvoyance the crystal ball had.

“I see battles,” Rose said after performing a long ritual that included burning multiple herbs that had smoke curl up at the ceiling. Her eyes were closed and expression concentrated. “Many battles. There is a lot to lose and a lot to gain, and you will always have to make a choice between what to save.”

“Is this all? Knowing some details of these upcoming battles would be useful,” Jade sounded disappointed.

“It never gives me details, it’s not the way it works.”

“And people are satisfied with these short vague predictions? They never ask for more?”

“An important part of being the Tentacle Therapist is being a psychologist. People come to me seeking advice, and what they don’t know is that magic is almost never the answer, the answer lies inside themselves. This,” she pointed at the crystal ball, “is just entourage for effect. As well as a little help with knowing the future, of course.”

They parted ways after asking one last question about what kind of spirit was trapped inside the ball, and Rose answered with confidence that it was a spirit of Light, and added that, judging by their description, the crown had the spirit of Doom.

Rose walked them to the dirigible, talking about the list of antique shops and other places they should check first in their quest of finding the lost objects, and saying she would use her own sources of information to help them out.

***

Even after they went to sleep, Jake changed into his pyjamas with a pumpkin pattern, and climbed into a sleeping bag on the floor next to Dirk, he still couldn’t let go of Tobin’s Spirit Guide Rose gave him. Just like she said, the books was amazingly written and contained many facts that might be useful to them, as well as Rose’s personal notes.

It was four in the morning, Jake was still lying on his stomach, a flashlight tucked between his cheek and shoulder; he was convinced he wouldn’t be able to sleep unless he finished reading the Guide, and he was eager to share the most interesting facts with the closest person, who was lying in a sleeping bag with his back turned to Jake.

“Dirk, hey, Dirk.”

“Hmmm,” he sounded drowsy and didn’t move.

“Did you know that in ancient times masks of all kinds were considered to be an imprint of a person’s soul and therefore were sacred, and they were the first choice for a magic ritual? It is a very high chance that one of the vessels would be a mask.”

“Hmmm.”

“I think we should also focus on studying the Empress’s biography since the objects used as vessels were in her possession. I wonder if she had a mask...”

“S’re.”

“Oh, look at this! Did you know that humans can’t be permanent vessels because our souls are too powerful and complex, and thus a living creature’s body simply can’t handle having two powerful sources of energy inside? However, they can be temporary vessels, and in this case the control of the body is taken by the energy source with the strongest will, while the other is inevitably subdued. Basically, this is a definition of possession. Now I understand why the Empress didn’t succeed with picking people to take control of the spirits, she picked warriors, meaning she judged by physical strength, which was wrong. Hey, Dirk?”

“Hmmm.”

“What do you think defines how strong one’s will is?”

“Dunno.”

“Maybe it’s about how convinced you are that you are doing the right thing. Or how much you support your beliefs. Or how stubborn you are. Or maybe not, it couldn’t be this simple, otherwise a lot of people would be qualified...”

“Jake English,” Dirk turned around to face him. “Please don’t make me regret sleeping in the same room as you.”

“Sorry,” Jake whispered and shut up for the entirety of five minutes, until his thoughts drifted to realization that it’s never occurred to him to ask Dirk about something.

“Hey, Dirk... Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Do what?” His words were muffled by a pillow.

“The hunting spirits thing.”

He sighed, turning around again and rubbing his eyes. “If I wanted to leave I’d leave after the museum accident. You promised me a vacation, and I’m going to make sure you keep your word... Besides, I’ve passed the point of no return after you included me in our alias, I mean, if I leave now, it would be just Ace Hagl, which,” he yawned, “sounds extremely lame. Now goodnight.”

Jake smiled at him, feeling relieved, and thought about how amazing Dirk was today, fighting the spirit, and how many more epic battles like this they were going to experience, and how great they were going to look on the pages of his books.

This, just like every moment they spent together, only added to the desire to get to know him even better, to turn him into someone like Jade, a big part of his life, a teammate, a best friend.

They were definitely going to be an unbeatable team no spirit could ever match. With those upbeat thoughts, Jake continued reading the Spirit Guide, falling asleep an hour later with his face pressed in the middle of a chapter about herbs usually used for necromantic rituals.

***

The next morning for Jake started with Bec’s heavy breathing and saliva on his face; he pushed the dog away and rose from the book he was using as an unexpected pillow. The clock told him that it was, in fact, afternoon, and after changing into everyday clothes, dumping his head into ice cold water to wake up, and tucking the Spirit Guide under his arm, he hobbled to the common room where he found Jade.

“Oh, look who finally decided to honour us with his presence,” she said without looking up from _Complacency of the Learned_. “Too late for breakfast, too early for lunch, maybe you should go to sleep at a reasonable hour if you want to get up like a normal person.”

“Good morning to you too,” he mumbled and opened the fridge in search for leftovers. Then he noticed the suspiciously quiet atmosphere. “Why are we not in the air?”

“Because I need to install the transmitter, and I can’t climb on the envelope if we are a thousand metres above the ground,” Dirk said, appearing in the doorway, wiping his hands with a dirty cloth covered in spots of black oil. Without pausing he began carefully dismantling the control panel.

“Have you talked to Equius?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, I haven’t told him the details, of course, just asked if I could travel for a little longer,” Dirk replied. “He said he predicted it was going to end like this, and Nepeta asked to bring her souvenirs. So that’s it, I’ve officially left on a sabbatical.”

“That’s great, mate!” Jake said, admiring the effortless way he ripped the panel’s heavy lid off.

Later, after Jade convinced Jake she was feeling claustrophobic trapped in four walls and dragged him out for a walk with Bec, she said, “It’s a shame that I will have to put my research on standby. But I guess saving the world is worth it.”

“I think you can use your knowledge here as well,” Jake said. “Yesterday I was reading about the herbs used for magic rituals, maybe you can pinpoint where they originated.”

“Yes, yes!” Jade clapped her hands excitedly. “If the legend says the magicians where banned, they probably went somewhere where they could still practice magic, and these are the places we should check first!”

She carried on rambling about what ancient plants looked like now, and while Jake loved seeing his sister being passionate about her area of expertise, he was never a fan of flora, and if he was frank with himself, after an hour of a lecture about evolution he got bored. He continued listening out of politeness though, but excused himself later by reminding her that dinner duties were on him today.

He spent the rest of the evening slumped near Dirk, watching him work and, as usual, marvelling at the confident way he handled the little details of the mechanism, and occasionally bombarded him with questions about how the transmitter worked.

***

The finished wireless telegraph transmitter and receiver looked like a large box built into the control panel, with a roll of paper sticking out of it – Dirk explained that it would pick up electromagnetic impulses being sent from Rose’s own transmitter through the post office antennas, and automatically print them out in Morse code, since this code was used to transmit all telegrams. The guide to deciphering the code was hanging in the neat frame on the wall. Dirk also pointed out new keys on the control panel and showed them how to compose a message to Rose that, once delivered, would be printed on the same device in her house.

They tested it out by sending her a message that said, “To Tentacle Therapist, from Dace Hagler: Our quest begins.” They got a reply an hour later, when they were already in the air, a short message that said, “Good luck. –TT.”

***

***

Sollux Captor was sitting in a prison cell, his head bowed down and eyes closed. He didn’t even care about his back freezing, pressed to hard cold stone, emanating despair – everything stopped mattering after the judge read out the verdict: guilty and to be sentenced with fifteen years in prison for attempted murder, theft, destruction of property, and criminal negligence.

He clenched his fists and the handcuffs binding him cut into his wrists. The only things he was allowed to take (or rather, the guards didn’t notice him taking) with him were two pieces of paper, now lying in an inner pocket of his gown and burning a hole in his chest. One of them was a note written in dark green ink, the word “Sorry” mocking him, laughing right at his face. Sorry for ruining your life, Captor. Sorry you ended up in a hospital. Sorry for smashing the museum and making you a scapegoat for every single thing that went wrong. Really fucking sorry.

The money they left covered Sollux’s hospital bills, but it still looked more like a mocking, especially after the judge announced that he had to either pay impossible amounts to cover the damage and loss of the stolen crown, or go to prison; but how did they expect him to do it when he didn’t even have enough money to rent his own apartment.

Because here was the fact Sollux accepted a long time ago: he wasn’t good at anything. One could wonder if it was even possible, a person should be able to do _something_ , but it was true – he didn’t have any talents or interest in anything, as if the thing that was supposed to be his special distinctive characteristic didn’t even exist in this world.

The only reason he became a tour guide and a security guard was a need for money in order to survive, but after a month he understood it was just another thing he was destined to fail. After another month he started hating the tourists that came to see the Falls, their shouting, amused gasps, like they’ve never seen a waterfall before, constant rude repetitive questions, tendencies to litter everywhere, and the way they forgot that the museum staff’s lives didn’t revolve around catering to their every need. In return Sollux’s boss started hating him too, openly calling him the worst employee she has ever had.

On that fateful day, a couple of hours before his morning shift started, he had an argument with his boss again, about how he should put on a smile and treat every tourist like the most important guest – but he didn’t want to smile for those people and give them all this fake respect and admiration. The only thing he wanted to do was to read the story of the Falls his boss made him learn by heart, make sure nobody jumps, and be done with it, in hopes that one day he would be able to do something of substance with his life. And especially he didn’t need an irritating bespectacled show-off to interrupt him, and his stupid friends to laugh along, and their dog was probably laughing too – but he had to keep a calm respectful façade unless he wanted to be fired.

In the end, the trio and the dog turned out to be not only thieves (not surprising, what else those horrible people could do?), but something worse: magicians.

Sollux hit the wall with a fist.

He wouldn’t let his mind drift in this direction, he didn’t want to remember how it felt, the crown burning his forehead, slime filling his lungs, like every cell of his body was stuck in an endless circle of being killed and revived again and again and again and again until he forgot he was human...

No. He said he wouldn’t think about it. Besides, there wasn’t much to remember, the memories of what happened were blurred, and he learned the sequence of events only by reading the damn apology letter. It was like waking up from a terrible nightmare without remembering what it was about, but still feeling a cold sticky hand gripping his insides.

Instead he thought about his boss, who wasn’t the greatest person, but didn’t deserve being knocked out anyway. She lost her memory of what happened, at least that’s what she said to the judge. Maybe she remembered, but considered it to be just a pain-induced nightmare. In any way, she testified against him.

And in some ways, he deserved to be here, sitting in a temporary prison cell, waiting to be shipped to a facility with higher security.

After all, he put the crown on out of his own stupidity and desire to mock Jake English. He just didn’t expect the spell to actually work...

But English believed in magic and read the spell with full understanding of what he was doing.

This all was his fault.

“Mister Sollux Captor?”

Sollux opened his eyes and raised his head to see two people standing in front of the cell’s barred door: a woman with gorgeous curly black hair, who asked the question, and a tall smartly dressed man with a purple streak in his hair. Sollux nodded warily.

“We are very interested in hearing your story. Would you like to share?”

“Who are you?” Sollux stood up and eyed them with suspicion. “Reporters? Ask the judge for the story if you want it, he will tell you all the details.”

The man huffed. “We are not reporters, and I consider it incredibly offensive to be called one. I am Professor Eridan Ampora of Sandford University, Department of Historical Studies.”

“And I am Aradia,” the woman smiled. “We are not interested in the judge’s truth, we want to hear _your_ truth,” her bright red lips broke into a slightly terrifying smile, and she pressed her face to the bars. “Tell us about the spirit in the Empress’s crown.”

“Ara, a prison cell is not the best place to have a sensitive talk like this,” the man – Eridan – put a hand on Aradia’s shoulder. He eyed Sollux, assessing him. “We have a proposition. In exchange for your story we will bail you out of prison and give you a well-paid job.”

“You want me to work for you?”

“No, work _with_ us,” Aradia said. “We can study the spirits together, you will understand what happened to you, and perhaps there will be a chance for revenge… What do you say?”

Sollux touched his pocket where the note was, as well as a safety policy list all tourists signed, that had three names in it: Jake English, Jade Harley, and Dirk Strider.

“Let’s go.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And thus, Dace Hagler was born.
> 
> Poor Sollux has the worst day in his life. Tourists, am I right.  
> Also, the team Eridan-Aradia-Sollux a dream come true, ok?
> 
> Hope you don't mind the sketchy crown - I didn't want to waste time on drawing every diamond properly, heh.  
> At first I wanted to leave the vessels to your imagination, but eh, I'll just draw a quick sketch at the end of each chapter.
> 
> As usual, you can visit [waoheas tag on my tumblr to see me talking about this AU and sharing extra info.](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/tagged/waoheas)


	3. Windows Of The Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the concept of the power of will is introduced.

Jake’s shaky knife cut a carrot into two uneven pieces.

“It was raining in a dark gritty alley when the infamous criminal Jake English chose his next victim among the innocent vegetable civilians,” Dirk said in his best stage voice.

Jake doubled with laughter, trying to hold the knife still. Dirk was supposed to be helping with cooking, but in fact was only distracting him by narrating the process in the style of a gore detective novel.

“The mutilated body of Mister Carrot joined the remains of Miss Zucchini, leaving only English’s calling card – a butcher knife. Who is going to be a tough, haunted hero who will solve the case of mass homicide?”

Jake snorted, wiping his eyes and trying to push Dirk away – without really meaning it, that’s why he barely budged.

“Go distract Jade instead,” Jake said, “I’ll never finish dinner this way.”

“Hey, I give you amazing detective plots for free, and that’s what I get in return instead of being showered in praise and rose petals?” Dirk protested.

“Thanks, but I’d rather stick to light-hearted adventure novels about us,” Jake couldn’t help but to continue smiling fondly at him.

Two weeks have passed since they’ve been to Avis, and all this time they’ve been travelling around nearby cities visiting random museums and antique shops, and with each passing day Jake found himself growing more and more fond of Dirk. He thought that the decision to bring him along was one of the most important recently – after all, without him they wouldn’t have gone to Crystal Falls and wouldn’t have discovered magic. And, of course, simply having him on board was great, and Jade agreed, and Bec seemed to like him too.

While Dirk didn’t explicitly demonstrate sharing this sentiment, he often mentioned how uneventful his life in Avis was, and Jake figured he was just as glad as them.

Which made everything only more beautiful.

In-between visiting shops and waiting for a message from Rose they’ve been stopping to visit more famous landmarks, and now Jake was thinking where else could they go to amuse themselves, and it seems like he has found a perfect option.

***

A short boy with messy chestnut hair has blocked the exit of the house by standing in the doorway and sprawling his hands on both sides, as the last line of defence between the street and the girl standing in front of him.

“Terezi, please! Disregard everything I’ve said earlier if you want, but now I’m just begging you – don’t go!”

The girl, whose pale skin was brightened with feverishly red spots of blush, snorted angrily.

“Don’t try to stop me, Karkat, I have made up my mind.”

She attempted to shove him out of the way with her walking cane, but Karkat didn’t lurch.

“That Aranea is shady, she has a liar’s face and reeks of bullshit promises, everyone knows it!”

Terezi dived under his arm quickly, but Karkat managed to grab her shoulder.

“It’s like you don’t want me to get my vision back!” She slapped his hand away and stormed out of the house, with Karkat following behind, looking desperate.

“Of course I want you to see again! But you have to understand that what Aranea promises is not possible, magic isn’t real, and all these so-called healers are simply frauds! I don’t want you to end up disappointed or sad or heartbroken–”

Terezi turned around unexpectedly and jabbed Karkat’s chest with the end of her cane so hard he had to step back.

“Easy for you to say, you take your eyes for granted! You haven’t been blinded at the age of twelve and weren’t forced to learn everything about the world from scratch once more; you haven’t had your chances of becoming anyone significant, like a lawyer or a linguist or even a damn surfer, destroyed completely!”

Terezi’s eyes, now pale, having lost their rich aquamarine colour, blinked rapidly behind red-rimmed glasses, and Karkat’s heart hurt more than from the jab of Terezi’s cane.

“Were you talking to Latula again? Don’t listen to her, all she does is spewing bullshit, your blindness didn’t change a thing, you are still the most won–“

“Oh, shut up, Karkat,” Terezi scowled and renewed her fast pace. “You pretty words mean nothing, they can’t change the fact that I am seventeen already and so far nobody wants to hire me, not even shitty cheap beach diners. So please forgive me for taking a chance to become a complete person once more.”

They have arrived at the intercity train station and heard the whistle of the coming train; Karkat knew it was his last chance to persuade Terezi to change her mind, but before he could nerve himself to say something to make her stay away from fake witches who lie for a living, or maybe finally confess his love to her, she spoke again.

“Please, Karkat,” she sounded angrier with each word. “Just this once, stay out of my business. Ever since the accident you have been following me around like you think I can’t do anything on my own. I thought you were my friend, but you are just like everyone else – don’t do this, don’t do that, you are a fragile glass sculpture, Terezi, you need to be locked away from the big bad real world! I’m sick of it!”

“I was only trying to support you,” Karkat frowned, perplexed. He didn’t realize his decision to move to the apartment next to Terezi’s and working in her mother’s shop would be interpreted this way.

“I’m sick of your support then!” She was shouting, and the people on the station gave them disapproving stares. The train has arrived, and they started piling up into it. “Do you need this spelled out for you? Leave! Me! Alone!”

She jumped into a carriage, and the doors slammed shut in Karkat’s face. In the end, _he_ was the one being left disappointed, sad, and heartbroken.

He stared at his feet, clutching the railing tightly.

He would do anything for Terezi, and if she didn’t want him around, the best thing he could do was getting out of the way.

He turned around and headed back to the shop he worked in.

***

When Terezi arrived to Aranea’s house, she has already begun feeling bad for lashing out at Karkat, after all, he was her best friend. So what if he had annoying overprotective tendencies, he still didn’t deserve to be treated like shit. When she would get her vision back, finding Karkat would be the first thing to do, she would see how much he has changed in five years and they would talk it out, each saying their respective apologies, becoming friends again.

Terezi tapped her cane to feel the narrow staircase leading to Aranea’s opened door and stepped inside carefully.

“Hello?” She called out, listening to soft noises of rustling leaves, paper and, surprisingly, cracking fire (why would _anyone_ need fire in Fenestram?).

The creepy atmosphere was amplified with smells of weird ointments and balms that reminded her of a hospital, and she shuddered against her will.

“Miss Terezi Pyrope! Do come in,” she heard Aranea’s voice suddenly; the ability to appear seemingly out of nowhere was the most unnerving thing about her.

Aranea’s gentle hand wrapped around Terezi’s wrist, guiding her to the table where she knew a crystal ball was sitting, and asked, “I trust you have brought the payment as we agreed?”

“Yes,” Terezi pulled the small hand mirror out of the bag – an old relic from the shop her mother owned, it was practically priceless. Aranea knew it, since she specifically didn’t ask for money, but for the mirror. However, Terezi might have been desperate, but she wasn’t stupid, and she would never simply give away something like this. “But you won’t get it until you give my vision back.”

“The ritual might take a long time, and the effect is not going to become apparent immediately,” Aranea said sharply, and Terezi put her hand on the mirror that instant.

“That’s the deal, Aranea: I will give you the mirror only after I am able to see my reflection in it and read these writings,” she ran her finger over the carving covering the mirror’s frame. She knew this was an ancient cipher, and she devoted a ton of free time that suddenly appeared after the accident to read and translate it using only her fingers and Karkat’s help, who read her the translation guides; that was the only way she could learn what was written there.

Aranea made a tiny irritated noise that people without enhanced hearing wouldn’t be able to catch, and said in a fake pleasant tone, “Of course, I understand. Please put it on the table for now, the healing ritual may take many hours.”

***

“I promised you a vacation, so here you go,” Jake breathed out, pointing at the giant colourful sign that said “ _Welcome to Fenestram, the leisure paradise!_ ” and the beach on the ocean side that went on forever, decorated with multicoloured dots that were tourists’ umbrellas.

Dirk grunted in response, pulling his cap lower to hide from ardent sun; his pale skin has already begun getting covered in red spots. Jake’s and Jade’s dark skin tone prevented them from getting instant sunburns, but they were drenched in sweat anyway. Poor Bec was strolling along slowly and breathing heavily with his mouth wide open.

“I suggest that we check the antique shop quickly, and if we find nothing there again, we spend the rest of the day hibernating in the ocean,” Jade said, trying to push her long hair under a straw sun hat she’s just bought.

Since both Nocteville and Avis were chilly cities even in summer, none of them were used to the climate they arrived to. Seaside resorts always seemed so attractive in the pictures, but none of the members of their team could bring themselves to finding Fenestram truly enjoyable.

Frankly, Jake didn’t remember the last time he had to ditch his waistcoat and wear shorts instead of pants, but the thing he regretted the most was abandoning his scarf that became a symbol rather than a simple garment. Jake kind of hoped they wouldn’t find anything in Fenestram, just like in the other towns they visited prior, just so they could leave and have a real vacation somewhere where it was not +40 degrees heat, and where people wouldn’t throw strange looks at him (probably because of the guns sticking out of his tight pockets).

“No waiting,” he said and grabbed Dirk’s and Jade’s elbows, stirring them towards the beach. “Let’s make a little ice cream detour.”

With Jade agreeing loudly, and Dirk giving a non-committed shrug, they soon found themselves sitting in blissful shadow, watching the waves washing the golden sand on the beach, and devouring heavenly cold ice cream.

Bec has gobbled up five portions of ice cream in a second and looked up at the three of them with pleading eyes; Dirk petted him and gave him the last piece of his own. Jake smiled; he noticed that Bec has really warmed up to Dirk and vice versa, which was great – it was extremely important that all team members accepted each other.

Dirk grimaced at the saliva and ice-cream left on his fingers and wiped them off Bec’s fur.

Jake noticed that freckles covered Dirk’s knuckles, and even shoulders and chest (at least the part visible under the tank top), became brighter because of the sudden exposure to the sun. Dirk swiped the fringe off his forehead and Jake saw a couple of freckles appearing there too, just below the hairline.

“What?” Dirk asked, looking at him suddenly with his head tilted.

“N-nothing,” Jake sputtered, turning away quickly, and Jade snorted.

“Anyway,” he swirled the conversation away from whatever nasty thing Jade was about to say by pulling several soggy telegrams Rose sent over the course of the last week, while they were inspecting antique shops in other towns. “Just to remind us all, what do we know about this vessel?”

“It’s a locket or a mirror,” Jade said, fixing glasses that slid of her sweat-covered nose. “We have no information about the locket, but if it’s a mirror, it’s probably golden or gilded.”

“A small one with a handle, since it was the most common way of making mirrors back then,” Dirk added.

“Probably decorated with garnets, the Empress loved them,” Jade finished, and it was really all they knew. The latest message from Rose said that she and Kanaya managed to make out what was written in the destroyed journal and found that the Doom incantation wasn’t the only one written there. It also mentioned research concerning what other changed incantations could be, and by joining it with her own, Rose discovered the changed symbols of Breath and Mind. Although, since they didn’t know the spells themselves, they had no use for this information.

After that Jade offered Bec to play with a frisbee (to which he responded with a look of someone who has just been suggested to sit on the electric chair), so they continued to sit in the blessed shadow for a long time, until they remembered their duty was more important than ordering a dozen extra portions of ice cream. They decided to go the shop first and then reward themselves with the ocean after the job is done.

Upon entering the Silver Dragon antique shop they were greeted by a bored woman fanning herself and reading a magazine about surfing, and a sulking young man who looked like his dog died this morning. The man was half-lying at the counter, mindlessly picking at chipped paint.

“Hello, we are looking for a small hand mirror, or a locket with inscriptions inside, must be more than ten centuries old,” Jade said the words they kept repeating in every shop, sounding as chipper as ever.

“Not for sale,” the man said without looking up.

Jake forgot about the uncomfortable heat immediately.

“You have it, really?!” Could it be they finally got something right? “Which one? Can we see it? Just to have a look? Please?”

“We are not selling it to you,” the man grumbled, and the woman pushed his shoulder.

“Don’t be a dumbo, Karkat, do your job and show them the mirror.”

Karkat threw her a murderous glare, scrambled on his feet, and disappeared in the backroom.

“Latula, where the fuck did you hid it?” He yelled a minute later.

“I didn’t touch it,” his partner drawled.

“Then who did?” Karkat appeared again, now combing through the shelves. “No one has access here except for you, me, Redglare, and…”

He paused and suddenly threw his arms in the air.

“GODDAMNIT TEREZI! Look, tourshits, there will be no mirrors for you today, so you can shove your wallets back into your asses, and Latula, I’m taking a break.”

Latula flipped a page in her magazine. “You’ve just come back an hour ago, would it kill you to work just a little?”

“I don’t care, I’m going after Terezi to stop her from doing something she’ll regret!”

“Alright, kiddo, be her knight in shining armour,” she said, eyes glued to pictures of surfboards. “Tell Ter not to be late for dinner. Just don’t put much pressure on her, let her breathe a little.”

Karkat stormed out of the shop, but the trio and Bec caught him outside.

“Are you going after the mirror?” Jake asked, panting; Karkat was walking really fast. “Because if you are, we are going too.”

“Stop following me, it’s none of your business!” He shouted.

“Yes, it is. The mirror is potentially dangerous to whoever possesses it,” Dirk said, making his voice sound urgent and worried, and it worked, because Karkat frowned deeply.

“What is this fucking nonsense you are talking about? Are you Aranea’s agents or something?”

He glanced at Jade’s rifle, hidden in a bag, suspiciously.

“Who is Aranea?”

“A local witch,” he scoffed. “Well, when I say witch, I mean a swindler, obviously.”

The trio exchanged worried glances; neither of them liked the vessel-and-witch combination.

“And why exactly has your friend taken the mirror to this Aranea?” Dirk asked.

“Told you, it’s none of your business, leave me the fuck alone already, you dumbass weirdo tourists, or I am going to the police!” He yelled. “Who do you think you are?”

“Secret service agents,” Dirk lied confidently. “We are investigating a case here.”

Karkat raised his eyebrows, eyes travelling from Jade’s straw hat to Jake’s tight shorts to Dirk’s tattoo.

“…Right, and I am the Empress, blow me.”

“We are undercover, obviously,” Jake jumped the lie, and decided to say what he thought Karkat wanted to hear most. “There has been a series of crimes connected to the people calling themselves witches, it’s time we put this cheating rascaldom in prison where they belong.”

He patted the pistols in his pockets, and it seemed be just the thing Karkat needed; he was ready to believe it even without any proof given.

“This, I can agree with,” he said. “Fine, let us join our forces then. She lives far away, further down the shore, we are going to have to wait for the train...”

“Or we can take our dirigible and fly over there in ten minutes,” Jade interrupted. “I mean, if we are secret agents, it means we can fly anything and park anywhere.”

She sent Jake a quick smirk.

“Alright, lead the way,” Karkat shrugged. “For Terezi’s sake I am going to ignore the obvious stranger danger issues and assume you are not going to kidnap me, lock me in a dungeon, and let your dog eat me.”

Becquerel actually looked offended, turning away and successfully imitating a scornful scoff.

As soon as they got up in the air, Karkat began pacing anxiously.

“Why don’t you tell us the whole story with Aranea in the meantime?” Jade asked, mostly to calm him down.

He signed and leaned against the wall, looking down at the carpeted floor.

“My friend, Terezi, is blind, and everyone’s giving her a hard time, even her sister Latula, that dumbass surfer you saw in the shop, sorry for tautology. And Aranea is another one of the assholes surrounding her, she is pretending to be a witch and a healer, which is complete and utter bullshit, and also there is this ancient mirror Terezi looks after in the Silver Dragon. Technically it belongs to the shop, but she doesn’t want Redglare to sell it, it means a lot to her, she has spent so much time translating the writings on it, and it doesn’t take a lot of brainpower to understand why it was extra tough for her…”

The glances they exchanged over Karkat’s head were even more worried than before; this didn’t sound good at all.

“Well, long time ago Aranea took a particular interest in it. She kept bugging Terezi about it, trying to make a deal, playing with her mind, and in the end, Aranea somehow convinced her she can heal her eyes, and apparently, asked for the mirror as a payment. Argh, why did the past me had to be such a raging dumb ball-sniffling asshole, I should have never left her at that train station!!”

He pulled at his hair vigorously, and looked at them hopefully.

“So what are you planning to do now, arrest her?”

“We will see once we arrive there,” Jade said calmly, but he poked her at the shoulder.

“No, you should arrest her! And give her a fine of a million pounds! And while you are at it, can you also fine Latula – Latula Pyrope, write it down – for psychological damage? And also…”

Karkat kept on going, telling Jade what kind of punishment he thought everyone who has ever hurt Terezi deserved, while Jake sneaked away from his word vomit by taking the second pilot’s sit next to Dirk and help him navigate the dirigible to sit precisely on the roof. As soon as it landed with a soft _thump,_ Karkat barged between them and practically ripped the hatch off the roof, screaming, “Aranea Serket, stay away from Terezi, I brought a fearsome crew with me this time, and I’m not afraid to use them, so you’d better– Ouch!”

A stroke of a blade almost hit his face ad he was thrown back, falling on his backside – a young woman jumped out of the hatch, holding a blue sword with a harpoon-like ending, and glanced over them with impassive glassy eyes. Aranea – and Jake supposed it was her, judging by the hate-filled look Karkat was giving her – was a woman of striking beauty, looking like a compilation of all adventure heroines he has ever read about, with shoulder-length ebony hair, elegant white glasses, and full lips covered with blue lipstick; but then the illusion crumbled as she attacked again, aiming for Karkat’s throat. Dirk wasted no time in drawing his own sword, and two blades collided; Jake and Jade grabbed their guns, and Bec assumed an offensive stance, but Jake didn’t know what to do next, since he didn’t really want to plunge a bullet into somebody unless they imposed a real danger.

Karkat, on the other hand, got his intentions clear and jumped into the hatch.

Jade swore. “Crap, I’m going after Karkat, you and Bec stay here in case Dirk needs help.”

She followed Karkat, muttering something like “Why can’t this guy stand still for one second?” under her breath.

“Why are you attacking us?” Jake asked Aranea, and she directed the same expressionless stare at him, but instead of answering she lashed out to attack him too.

“Stay out of this, blades and bullets don’t mix,” Dirk said, effortlessly parrying her strike and leading her sword away from Jake, whom he pushed away with a free hand.

Belatedly, Jake realised this was the first time he saw Dirk in his swordsman glory, and boy was it something to look at. His moves were swift and graceful, the blade flew so fast it was nothing but a blurry spot of shining steel in the air, and clinking of steel against steel sounded like rapid heartbeat.

He was amazingly fast and dangerous, and not even a dozen of gorgeous dames from all the posters and novel covers could compare to him.

Aranea was pretty good too, since she could quickly counter and deliver the same attacks. Both Dirk’s and her faces were expressionless, but while he knew Dirk’s face was a sign of concentration, Aranea’s looked downright unnatural. Her expression still hasn’t changed since they saw her for the first time, and Jake sensed there was something seriously wrong here.

But he couldn’t dwell on it for too long, because he heard Jade yelling from downstairs, “Jake, come down here!!”

Aranea darted to cover up the hatch immediately, but Dirk threw her back with such strength she toppled down on her knees.

“Go,” Dirk said and raised his sword again. “We’ll be fine.”

Jake nodded, but still asked Bec to stay behind just in case.

The hatch led to a cosy lounge, which then led to a room filled with smoke of an extinguished fireplace. He saw Jade holding struggling Karkat, preventing him from lashing out at something, and he was about to ask her what happened when Jade screamed “Be careful!”, and suddenly dizziness overcame him, lights danced in his eyes as if he just stood up after sitting for a long time. However, the feeling was brief, and Jake jerked, inhaling deeply like after being pulled out of water, looking around frantically.

His breath hitched when he saw a bony hand pulling back under a semi-transparent veil that extended from a halo-like shining turquoise circle, and covered what looked like a human skeleton from head to toe.

Jake took a stepped towards Jade, subconsciously trying to shield her. The figure looked ghost-like, and was emanating cold, which would be blissful if it wasn’t so spooky.

“That’s what I wanted to warn you about, we might be too late,” she said quietly, with Karkat still struggling to escape her clutches.

“I am not afraid of Aranea’s weirdass tricks, let me go, I need to find Terezi!” He yelled, and the creature – one of the spirits, it couldn’t have been anybody else – actually _sat_ at the table loaded with opened books and manuscripts, observing them calmly. It was easy to put two and two together and figure out that Karkat’s friend was used as a vessel; she didn’t seem hostile, and while Jake held his fingers ready on the triggers, he wasn’t about to be the first one to start a fight. What he thought would be better was initiating a conversation.

“What did you do to me?” He demanded in what he hoped was a dominant tone, rather than a whimper of a person quivering in fear of the unknown.

“A little mind reading,” she answered; her voice managed to sound both icy cold and friendly at the same time. “When one awakens after two millennia, one desires to know the events of the wasted years.”

“I am not thousand years old,” Jake said, glancing at Jade and trying to silently ask her if her mind was read too. She nodded.

“I am aware that human life span is laughably short, but you do keep track of the events of the past generations, so your mind was still useful. Although it was saddening to know so many people lost belief and compulsory fear. You do fear me, but for other, petty reasons – unfortunately, the style of my Doom sibling you’ve encountered is taking things too seriously, not all of us are obsessed with destroying everything on their way.”

“What are you a spirit of?” Jade asked, and Karkat actually stopped squirming, seemingly taken aback and trying to digest the conversation.

“Why do you ask?” The veil moved when the words were pronounced, but they could see that the skeleton behind the veil had no skull, just the trachea and the halo suspended on nothing. Jake gulped.

“Out of curiosity?” Jade replied nervously.

“It’s very pointless to lie to someone who has just read your mind. I know that you need my title so that you can use your communication device to ask the magician for an incantation to trap me into the mirror again. But I also know that you can’t do it because you don’t have the original incantation to work off, so I see no harm in telling you that the title given to me is Mind.”

Jake exchanged glances with Jade again – Mind was right, they didn’t know the original spell, and even if Karkat had the mirror they wouldn’t be able to deliver it to Rose in time. Although they still needed to tell Rose about what happened, and quick.

“I am sick of never understanding what the fuck is going on!” Karkat used Jade’s temporary distraction to break free, rip one pistol out of Jake’s hand, and point it at the spirit. “I don’t care who you are, tell me what you’ve done to Terezi or I will blow your brains out!”

“This one is annoying,” the spirit said calmly and snapped her fingers; Karkat froze in place immediately, and after a moment of hesitation his hand with the pistol turned around and pointed at his own forehead. Jade and Jake gasped in unison, and Jake darted forward to crook Karkat’s hand towards the ceiling just a second before he pulled the trigger. The gunshot rang across the room, and Jake swept his other pistol to point at the spirit too.

“What the hell are you doing to him, stop it!”

“Jake, don’t aggress!” Jade twisted Karkat’s hand to take away the pistol; he didn’t even give a sound of discomfort.

“Yes, Jake, don’t aggress,” Mind sounded smug. “You know that you can’t kill me, and the only thing your onslaught does is making me irritated, which in return makes me want to do this...”

She snapped fingers again, and it was like Jake’s thoughts were all gone at once, instead replaced with white noise; his mind became a mere tiny dot of consciousness in his body, everything else was replaced with someone else’s will. He could still see the things around him, like Jade staring at him with horrified eyes, and Karkat grimacing in pain, cradling his hand, but those were just abstract pictures that held no meaning, and he had no desire to figure their meaning out. There was someone else who dictated his desires now, and that someone made him drop the pistol, turn around, and smash his face into the wall. He felt nothing.

Jade’s scream stirred something inside of him, but the feeling was quickly subdued in favour of more face-to-wall contacts – he felt Jade’s and Karkat’s hands grabbing him from behind, but the two of them weren’t strong enough to drag him away from the wall, and he simply punched Jade in the throat and kicked Karkat’s knees.

Then he tore himself away from their hands and twirled around aiming a punch at Jade’s face, when suddenly he heard loud barking, and consciousness rushed back into him at its full power.

“Holy christ on a bike!!” Jake doubled, pressing hands to his face – it hurt like hell, with blood dripping out of his nose, one of the lenses in his glasses was cracked, and holy shit, _he hit Jade_.

“Are you okay?” She asked, looking him over with great worry.

“I’m so sorry,” he answered, trying to see the damage done to her.

“It’s not your fault, you were controlled,” Jade looked at the spirit who was now focused on warding off Bec; apparently, her control was ineffective on him.

“How is Karkat?”

“Fine, she stopped controlling him the moment she started controlling you, I think she can’t do it to two people simultaneously.”

“Are you sure about this?” Dirk asked in a low voice – he was standing in the doorway, trying to enter unnoticed, which was hard with Aranea who was leaning onto him for support. Her arms were covered in cuts, and the hem of her thin blue dress was torn into shreds. She was breathing heavily with her eyes closed, holding onto her injured stomach where the blue cotton was darkened with blood.

“You okay, Jake?” Dirk asked again, frowning.

“I’m good,” Jake replied, wiping the blood under his nose. “Be careful, she can...”

“...read minds, I know, Aranea told me. It commanded her to not let us in. Take care of her for now,” he passed Aranea onto Karkat, who, despite proclaiming how much he hated her earlier, readily offered his shoulder to lean on.

“Go upstairs and tell Rose what happened, please,” Jake told Jade, partly because he wanted to send her away from possible danger that could come from any of them.

In the meantime Dirk straightened his back and stood in front of Mind, who was still trying to manipulate Bec into submission.

“Becquerel, stop,” he said, and surprisingly, Bec listened and ceased prancing around and barking at once, stilling in the shadows behind Jake.

“New mind,” the spirit turned her attention to Dirk and outstretched a hand towards him, but he pointed the tip of the sword at her and slouched his shoulders.

“Like hell I am going to let you read my mind! You need physical contact, correct? Not even Aranea, who couldn’t feel pain, could touch me, and I am certainly not letting you do it.”

“Did you forget that I can make you do my bidding? No contact required,” Mind snapped her fingers again, and Dirk walked straight up to her; but in a split second when she took control off in order to read his mind, Dirk sliced her chest upwards, ripping the veil, but doing no harm otherwise; and then the spirit’s hand touched his forehead.

Just like Jake, he inhaled deeply after being pulled back into this realm and stumbled backwards.

“Smart move, weak execution,” the spirit said, sounding pleased with herself, and Jake’s curiosity picked up instantly. “But, since you are smarter than an average human, a fighter, and a believer, you shall be my puppet.”

She snapped her fingers, and Dirk assumed the unnatural straightened pose immediately.

“What is your goal here? World domination?” Jake asked, looking at Dirk, worried and ready to protect him if the spirit commands him to hurt himself. He had no idea what he would do if Mind told him to attack; he wouldn’t be able to shoot him, not even in self-defence.

Mind actually laughed at this, a hollow, creepy sound.

“Human race is so amusing, always assuming all the other forces want is conquering their little planet. Not everything is about you. My goals here would be an interesting question to discuss, but let’s see if you can figure it out yourself. Kill them.”

Once the last words were said, Dirk sprinted towards him, and Jake barely dodged the sword that flew dangerously close to his throat.

He blocked the next attack by crossing the pistols and catching the blade between them – his arms nearly gave in under the force of the attack – and Dirk’s next strike collided with the barrel of Jade’s rifle.

“Bec is waiting for Rose’s reply,” she whispered.

“Will somebody just explain me what the fuck is going on!!” Karkat screamed, and Jake suddenly remembered that he and Aranea were in the same room too.

However, Jake couldn’t allow himself to be distracted: while earlier he thought Dirk’s technique was downright beautiful, being a target of his cascading attacks was nothing but terrifying. He had no time to think his moves through, focused solely on dodging the blade and avoiding being killed.

Jade used the length of her rifle to block the blade over their heads with a vile grinding sound, and Jake ducked under their arms to grab Dirk’s wrists. If only he could disarm him...

Dirk ripped his hand out of Jake’s grip easily and stroke his temple with the sword’s hilt.

Pain shot through Jake’s head and he dropped down, momentarily forgetting where up and down was.

“Jake!” Jade gasped, and it was enough of a distraction for Dirk to slice her palms and make her drop the rifle.

He saw Dirk’s shoulders tense as he was about to strike again, and grabbed his pistols, seeing only one logical solution.

He emptied the entire magazine into the spirit.

“I told you, you can’t kill me with this,” she sounded incredibly irritated and did what Jake wanted her to do – snapped her fingers, switching the mind control from Dirk to him.

The familiar sensation of detached observation overcame him, and he watched his finger pull the trigger at Jade several times, producing nothing but dry clicks. Dirk covered her, they both were saying something, and he heard Bec’s barking; Dirk threw his sword across the room, and it got stuck in the wall behind the couch.

“Note to self: learn the ways modern weaponry works,” the spirit said, and Jake could see freely once more with his mind given back. “That’s why I prefer good old blades.”

Dirk was under her control again, but this time it was easier to take him on, since fist fight was a familiar territory.

Jade whispered urgently, “Bec’s got Rose’s reply, what does it say?”

Jake glanced at the paper at Bec’s mouth quickly, pivoting on his heels to avoid Dirk’s punch, and scowled. “Dot-dash-dot, I don’t know, I can’t read Morse, I’m not Dirk!”

Jade dropped her gun. “Bec, create a diversion.”

“Come on, Dirk,” Jake caught his wrists and pinned him against the wall with his whole body, staring into his obscured eyes intently. “I don’t want to hurt you, I know you can see me, why can’t you wake up!... We need you to read the code!”

“No human can break free from my control,” the spirit sang.

“Terezi could have!” Karkat proclaimed, stepping away from Aranea whom he helped to sit on the couch. “Aranea told me everything. And if you won’t let her go, she will break free on her own eventually.”

“While trust you have in your beloved is admirable, I saw her mind, and it was weak with despair and shame. It is impossible.”

“No, it isn’t! Terezi, if you can hear me–“

“She can’t hear you, _you imbecile_ ,” for the first time today the spirit sounded furious, her halo glowed brighter, and Dirk slumped in Jake’s grip, his control lifted, and he grabbed the Morse message immediately.

“Terezi, you are a strong person who can’t be crashed, and there’s a million other reasons why I love you – and this asshole is just another one of the assholes who try to control you! Just like with Latula, or your mother, or any other pieces of human shit you encounter, you shouldn’t listen when they say things are impossible, because for such an outstanding person as you everything is possible. Now let’s show this unworldly abomination what real humans are capable of!”

“Rose sent us a binding spell,” Dirk muttered, writing the translation from Morse rapidly. “It should put the spirit in a comatose state, but firstly we need to take the mirror out of it.”

Jake and Jade nodded, and Bec accepted the paper with the finished translation. Jake spotted the mirror in the spirit’s ribcage, right where the human heart had to be.

“We will need to draw a circle of blood were it should stand to be trapped,” Dirk said quietly.

“It’s amusing how you are trying to appeal to her love for you,” Mind was completely focused on Karkat now, “Because as the one with complete access to her mind, let me tell you: it’s all in vain, she doesn’t love you.”

Jake carefully moved behind the spirit, spotting the glistening mirror behind the torn veil. He hoped Karkat had enough things to say to keep the spirit preoccupied.

Karkat pursed his lips together. “It’s not about me being in love with Terezi. I still have no idea what you are, but there’s one thing for sure: you are not worthy of being in her body. But you don’t understand it, do you? You think you have found the leverage to manipulate me by saying she doesn’t love me, but the truth is – ultimately it doesn’t matter, because no matter how she feels about me, she doesn’t stop being a wonderful person and my best friend, and I will never stop having her best interests at heart, and that includes doing whatever it takes to exorcise you and banish you back into whatever hellhole you came from.”

Jake stood en garde with one of his pistols, Jade picked up the rifle, and Dirk took Aranea’s sword. Aranea’s hands were still pressed to where Karkat bandaged her wounds with a piece of her blue dress, but her eyes were alert.

“I admit, now I regret having to use her as a vessel a tad,” Mind said coldly, “but only because it would be so fun to make you kill her.”

Karkat’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles went white.

“But,” the spirit continued, “Using familial love can be as fun, and there are two others who would suffer a great deal from killing each oth–“

“NOW!” Jake yelled, and everyone sprang into action from different directions.

The first one to fall under the spirit’s control was Jade, whose bullet grazed Jake’s shoulder and smashed the window, leaving a hole in the jalousie.

His skin burnt but he didn’t stop and shot right at the mirror, at the same time Dirk sliced Mind’s chest, and Karkat shouted “Please don’t hurt her!” – but no damage was done to her, and the next thing he knew his pistol was smashing into Dirk’s chin.

As soon as he got his consciousness back, he knew he shouldn’t focus on the dread that overcame him when he saw blood on Dirk’s face. He aimed to punch right throw Mind’s chest, right when Karkat’s fist sent him flying onto the floor, and he didn’t have time to see if he was under control or not; Jade whacked the rifle at Karkat’s stomach. Dirk grabbed his own sword and attacked her with two – she swung her rifle to knock the blades away; the cracked lens fell out of Jake’s glasses, his nosebleed renewed, and he used it to draw a small circle on the floor while the spirit was busy with switching control so rapidly he couldn’t follow who they were supposed to be fighting.

Jake took the spell from Bec, and suddenly the room was filled with bright light – Aranea ripped the jalousie off the windows – the spirit actually hissed when the light touched her, and the mind control of her current victim wavered, as the outside heat started pouring inside.

“Stop it, what if you are going to hurt Terezi!?” Karkat shouted and pushed Jade, who was about to aim another shot at the mirror, aside.

Of course, this only resulted in her sticking the barrel of a gun right between his eyes, a finger firm on the trigger.

Karkat froze in place with eyes wide, and Dirk reached for the rifle – but before he could shove it away, a bony hand grabbed it, and the mind control was lifted off Jade without being passed to anyone else.

Karkat slowly lifted his gaze up in shock. “Terezi?”

The spirit didn’t say anything, but there was a tremor in her hands, and her ragged breaths became more human.

“I knew you can break the bounds,” Karkat breathed out. “Is there anything–“

A single bright ray of sunshine pierced the dusty air and stroke straight into the turquoise halo; the spirit whipped her hands up, trying to protect it, and screamed in agony, and Aranea, who was standing by the window and holding a crystal ball she used to focus and direct sunlight over her head, shouted, “Do your spell, now!”

Bec seized the Mind’s legs and dragged her into the circle just as Jake began reading the obscure incantations; Dirk used both swords to cut into the spirit’s chest and push the mirror out, which Jade then ripped out of it completely.

The moment she did it, the blood circle lit up with blinding white light that shot upwards and crashed into the ceiling with force that made everything around them shake like it was an earthquake, and then was absorbed back into the floor, leaving only a cylindrical transparent cage where the spirit was frozen, as if suspended on the invisible ropes.

They could finally catch a breath.

Jake spit the gross iron taste of blood out and observed the others: Dirk was still in a tensed up pose with both swords at the ready, Jade sought comfort in soothing presence of Bec, Aranea dropped the ball and clutched her wound that started bleeding again, and Karkat was staring at the cage like he couldn’t process what just happened yet.

With only one lens to look through everything was blurred, but Jake could see their overly exposed skin being covered in bruises and scratches and splashes of blood.

“Rose said the spell should keep the spirit trapped while she figures out how to extract it from its human vessel,” Dirk said, mostly addressing Aranea and Karkat, who didn’t have a chance to listen to their conversations. “She needs to know the original incantation written on the mirror for this.”

“Who is Rose?” Aranea asked. She looked sick and ready to collapse any minute, but still held on a confident voice.

“Just a friend,” Dirk replied.

“A friend who knows the binding spell?”

“Exactly.”

“And where might I find this Rose? For the purpose of exchanging data as fellow magicians, of course.”

“I don’t think she would welcome it,” Dirk handed Aranea her sword. “She is very reclusive.”

Aranea squinted at him, suspicious, but said nothing.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Jade asked Karkat, who glared at her like he wanted to burn a hole in her skull.

“Who cares about me, how is _she_ feeling?!” He jabbed a finger at the cage. “She was starting to wake up, why couldn’t you wait just a fucking minute for her to expel that goddamn thing herself?”

“You don’t know much about magic, but we do,” Jake said. What they knew was mostly theoretical stuff from Rose’s guides and different legends, but Karkat didn’t need to know that.

He touched his face – it began swelling, and his voice sounded more nasal; he hoped his nose wasn’t broken.

“The spirit can’t exist without a vessel, and the only way it can leave Terezi’s body is to be trapped back into this mirror, and a spell is needed to enter it. Rose is our only hope now, as soon as she receives the original text, she will start working on the counter-spell.”

Karkat frowned and tried to touch the cage, but jerked his hand back like it was burnt.

“Rose seems to be a very talented magician,” Aranea said, sinking into an armchair. It seemed like she was inspecting him from head to toe, but Jake could be mistaken due to broken glasses.

For some reason he felt uneasy when she asked about Rose, maybe because of the whole secrecy thing they agreed should surround them.

“You are very talented too,” Jade said. “How did you know the light would hurt it?”

“Oh, it’s just a little something a figured out from observing its behaviour. It was a long shot, but it worked. When Pyrope looked into the mirror and transformed into this form, the first thing it did was closing all blinds and extinguishing the fire, plus as you have noticed, it literally emanated cold. As every self-respecting magician knows, a clue to weakening a spiritual being often lies in the opposite of their physical manifestation. The reason for this is that upon entering our realm the beings are forced to transcript certain attributes, that simply can’t exist here, to the closest phenomena of this world. Example being it talking in our language; obviously, you don’t expect the spirits to talk to each other in English in their realm, they simply adjust in order to become more understandable. How very considerate of them.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s all very exciting to listen to, my ears are orgasming from the amount of incredibly useful information you shove into them, but you need to see a doctor,” Karkat said, pointing at her stomach.

“How very considerate of _you_. Quite surprising as well, you were always so vocal about despising me,” Aranea raised her eyebrows.

“I still do, you made fake promises to Terezi about returning her vision, developed this crazy scheme in order to obtain the mirror, which I am _not_ giving you back, by the way, and ultimately became the reason all this shit happened. But it doesn’t mean I will let you bleed to death.”

“But I didn’t lie about healing her eyes. To be perfectly honest with you, because after we survived this unexpected undertaking together you deserve honesty and I _do_ hope you will return the favour, I never expected the spell to work, but since Pyrope wouldn’t give me the mirror unless I executed my side of the deal, at least I had to pretend to try performing complicated healing rituals. Of course, the ritual I chose was real, it simply never worked in the past due to the lack of the source of magic to bounce off, and at that time I didn’t know the mirror was one of the twelve vessels, I assumed it was merely an ancient relic I wanted to obtain. But, in a surprising twist, the ritual worked, and Pyrope could see again. However, this led to the events we witnessed today, because another ritual to release the spirit of Mind was complete with her looking into the mirror.”

“So you are basically admitting to tricking her into this,” Karkat said, and Aranea smiled pleasantly.

“I wouldn’t call something that worked out in the end a trick.”

Karkat stared at her with all the hatred he could master.

“We need to transport it... her... in the dirigible,” Jade said. “We can’t leave her here.”

She looked over the shining circle drawn on the wooden parquet.

“Aranea, this means we will have to cut the piece of your floor.”

“Oh, by all means, do continue to destroy my house,” she settled back in the armchair and closed her eyes.

***

After transporting the cage to the dirigible, they all ended up going to the hospital, because while Aranea was the most injured one (for which Dirk apologized, but she waved her heavily bandaged hand dismissively, saying that’s what was expected form him in a fight to death, and he will just have to owe her a favour, and he’ll be forgiven), all of them needed treatment – except for Bec, who got lucky enough to avoid the spirit’s vengeful attention.

Aranea stayed in the hospital, and Karkat went to Terezi’s home to make up a believable story about her absence, while the trio and Bec stayed in the dirigible sitting near the cage – pretending to guard it, but in reality wishing to bask in its cold, to save themselves from the exhausting heat.

Jake flipped the page of the journal he was writing in with one hand, while the other rubbed the bandage on a particularly nasty cut absent-mindedly.

“Sorry for hurting you,” Dirk said. He was sitting next to him, leaning against the wall, all tensed up and fiddling with the scabbard of his sword. All of them have apologized multiple times already, but Jake knew how it felt. It never felt enough.

He couldn’t describe the hurricane of guilt that swept him when he saw the consequences of his own mind control on his friends.

“It’s fine,” Jake replied. “It doesn’t even hurt anymore, just itches like hell.”

He didn’t even feel the pain from the collision with the wall anymore (thankfully, his nose wasn’t broken), the numbing ointments they got in the hospital did their job well.

“Still… Maybe I should teach you some of my techniques so that you can avoid them in the future.”

“My suggestion would be abandoning weapons altogether,” Jake muttered, not really meaning it, because even he could understand that being left without protection is a dumb idea.

“What are the odds of this happening again?” Jade asked, spinning in the pilot’s seat lazily. “I mean, this was a spirit of Mind, mind control should be its personal shtick. Like, the spirit of Rage will make you angry or something, Time will make us see the future, Space will have, hmm… teleportation powers…”

“And Heart will, in fact, be a cupid, who will make us fall in love with each other. Right,” Dirk finished, and Jake laughed so hard Bec woke up from his slumber.

“I’m just saying,” Jade smiled and shrugged. “One can never know what to expect with these majyyks.”

“Speaking of magic,” Jake mused. “There’s something I’ve meant to ask you, Dirk. Remember when you first saw the spirit, and she read your mind and said it was a smart move? What did she mean?”

Dirk’s hands tightened around the scabbard. “It was just an arrogant idea that didn’t work, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Of course it does! Ideas are great, we are always interested in hearing more, right, Jade? Jade, back me up on this!”

“Yep, we are tremendously interested! Commencing listening pose…” She spun in the chair one last time, propped her chin on her hand, and pointed at Dirk. “Go!”

The corners of Dirk’s lips lifted up a little. “When I was fighting Aranea on the roof, and she suddenly stopped – now I understand the spirit switched its control to one of you – she convinced me she was possessed, and since I didn’t want to meet the enemy unprepared, I prodded her for more information. She was happy to talk, and she explained everything, how she returned Terezi’s vision, and how Terezi transformed, and the first thing the spirit did was reading her mind and then turning her into its guard dog, commanding to kill anyone who would try to enter. Basically when I would enter the room mind reading was one hundred percent guaranteed, so I thought I might be able to use this to my advantage. I thought, maybe mind reading is the door that swings both ways, and if I push hard enough, I will bust the door open, ripping its metaphorical hinges off, and enter Mind’s mind. But to do this I should initiate the contact myself, and of course, it wouldn’t let me near itself since I was a hostile element, so I waited until it controlled me to come near, and in the moment of switching between mind control and mind reading I tried to dominate the connection. Obviously, it didn’t work, but at least the spirit admitted it was a smart move. Praise from the weirdass evil spirit, that’s all I’ve ever dreamed of. Hoo-fucking-ray,” he finished bitterly.

Jake stared at him in awe. “That was brilliant! An ingenious plan!”

“Ingenious plans don’t fail. The really smart thing was the way you disarmed yourself before forcing it to take mind control off me.”

“Ha-ha, yeah, thanks,” Jake rubbed the back of his head. “Go-go masterplans!”

He high-fived Dirk.

“And Jade deserves all the praise too, of course,” Dirk saluted her, and she smiled.

“Yep, everyone’s a hero in the end, especially Bec,” she petted the dog’s head, and he closed his eyes with a pleased expression. “Everyone keeps underestimating him, like _boo, he is just a dog, what can he do,_ when in fact, he was the only one the spirit couldn’t control because of how different his mind is. Suck it, scientists who say dogs are simple!”

She threw her fist in the air.

“Are you going to include this in your writing?” Dirk pointed at the journal. “Maybe you should omit the part about us being mind-controlled, it was pretty pathetic.”

“It was a spirit, Dirk,” Jake sighed, “a magical being a lot more powerful than us. Why do you keep beating yourself up for this?”

Dirk paused before answering. “I just thought that when you described a person with a strong will weeks ago, it could be me. I’ve always prided myself in having great self-control. I was almost completely sure my plan would work.”

“It’s not our level. Maybe humans are simply not meant to do this, if there was an incident with a human successfully taking control of a spirit, it would be included in the legend or one of those guides,” Jake paused, making a mental note to write the drafts about today’s events as soon as possible, while the memories were still fresh – as fresh as the wounds they received.

Jake fixed his glasses that kept sliding off the bump of bandages on his nose.

“Anyway,” he continued, looking at his friends solemnly, “with drawing appropriate conclusions from this encounter I would like to present a proposition. Dirk, is it at all possible to make the transmitter more... accessible? You know, just so we won’t have to rely on the dirigible always being nearby. I don’t know if it’s possible technologically speaking, but you are smart, maybe you’ll think of something?”

Dirk scratched his chin lightly. “I think I can make a secondary portable transmitter, but it will still have to receive the signal from the wireframe of the dirigible, so we are going to have to be within a certain range that I can’t determine yet. Also it’s going to be heavy as shit, and since you were the one to suggest it in the first place, you are going to be the one to carry it around.”

Suddenly Bec woofed and put his front paws on Dirk’s knees, looking at him intently.

“What?” Dirk asked warily. “It was a joke, of course we are going to take turns carrying it...”

“I think what he tries to say is that he offers to carry this heavy thing around,” Jade said.

“Does he really want to say all that?” Dirk asked, voice laced with sarcasm.

“Yes,” Jade deadpanned. “And if you don’t believe he can, just let me tell you that I used to ride him like a pony all throughout my childhood, he is capable of carrying weights for a long time. I told you, don’t underestimate him.”

She winked, and Bec went to snuggle up with her.

There was a loud knock on the door a second later, and Karkat entered without invitation.

“Any news from your Rose?” He asked before even stepping over the threshold.

“Sorry, no,” Jake answered and ended up on a receiving end of a murderous stare, like it was his fault five hours wasn’t enough for Rose to come up with a brand new spell.

Instead of sending Rose the pictures of the mirror (which they confiscated from Karkat, saying it was dangerous and should be locked away – it was much easier for him to believe them now) via air freight, they took the text of Terezi’s translations and sent them with the help of the transmitter straight away. Since her translations worked, it meant they were correct, therefore all Rose needed to do was creating a counter-spell.

From what they gathered from hearing different points of view of the participants of these events, even though the symbols were tampered with here too, Terezi used her sensory perception to read them, not visual like everyone else, and her over-sensitive fingers could feel the real symbols, and thus, use them in her translations.

Also, they found out about spells being delivered poste restante, since the last time Terezi read the spell aloud was several weeks earlier, and all she needed to do to complete the ritual was to look in the mirror.

“I told Latula Terezi and I are having a sleepover,” Karkat said, kneeling in front of the cage and observing barely noticeable movements of the veil; his face, illuminated by cold light of the shining halo, was almost as ghost-like.

“Maybe we should tell her the truth?” Jake suggested carefully. “She is Terezi’s family, she needs to know...”

Karkat scoffed. “No way. Reason number one: she is shitty family and doesn’t give a fuck. Number two: she won’t believe a word we say. Number who the fuck is even counting: she won’t be able to keep her blabbing mouth shut, and fucktards that call themselves scientists will find out, and take her away, and do experiments on her to use mind-reading powers for advanced warfare, and if you dare to suggest otherwise, I will rip your heads off with my bare hands.”

He caught a breath after finishing the rant and glared at them, daring to protest. Jake simply took Dirk and Jade by elbows and announced a team meeting they needed to partake in urgently.

“Phew, I needed to escape that tension,” Jake said when he navigated the other two to the kitchen and they peeked from behind the wall to see Karkat staring at the cage again. “He looked like he wanted to kill us. Alright, I can understand him being angry, but why is he angry with us? I didn’t expect us to become national heroes, but some acknowledgement would be nice. We helped them.”

“He is just sad and misses his friend, that’s all. For him the fight is not over yet,” Jade answered.

“Do you think they’ll get together after this? Karkat and Terezi?”

Jade shrugged. “Who knows. If they love each other, than yes…”

“ _If_? What do you mean, _if_? Haven’t you heard his grand confession, it was so romantic!”

“Yes, I got that, but what about Terezi?”

Jake stared at her in disbelief. “She broke the mind control for him, of course she loves him! It’s like the ending of a romance novel, the ultimate proof of her affections.”

After adventure, romance was his second favourite genre, again because of Grandma’s and Grandpa’s stories about their own marriage and their parents, as well as multiple romance novels their home library had. All of this made him think that finding The One would be the final piece of a puzzle that would make his life even greater than it already was, but this dream was pretty conceptual and was never put into action, since he didn’t want to risk losing the comfort he had with Jade for an unknown figure.

Jade still didn’t look convinced by his words: perhaps, she thought it was sisterly love, or just very strong friendship… But no, it was romance in its finest, and his audience would cry the tears of joy after they read about it.

“Dirk, come on, mate, chip in! What’s your opinion?”

Dirk looked even more impassive than Jade about the matter. What was wrong with these people, it was great undying _love_ they were talking about!

“No idea. We haven’t even met Terezi yet, I can’t say anything about her.”

“At least admit that Karkat’s love is epic and deserves a monument because it will outlive the humanity?” Jake asked, desperate to cram some understanding into him.

“Yes, okay, sure, his love is a sacrifice, which, I guess, makes it epic,” Dirk said, obviously trying to wiggle out of the conversation. Jake barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, because it’s not like he was asking a personal question, like ‘have you ever been in love.’

That, he admitted, actually sounded like a very interesting question to ask, but it was entering the ‘too personal to ask while sober’ territory.

“You know that I can hear you saying my name over and over, you creeps?” Karkat called out, and they exchanged wide-eyed glances.

“Oops, I guess we were a little inappropriate,” Jake whispered, Jade apologized, and Dirk excused himself, saying he wanted to start working on the secondary transmitter right away, because he still had to calculate the expenses and the time the installation would take.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll come up with something quick and brilliant, like you always do!” Jake said to support him.

“Will do,” he fixed his shades in an utterly cool manner, and as soon as he was out of sight, Jade dissolved into giggles.

“Take it down a notch, will you, otherwise everyone and their cockroaches will know you are crushing on him.”

Jake gaped at her, digesting her preposterous statement. That was ridiculous, even by Jade standards, because… just because it was! He wasn’t crushing, they were just good friends, where Jade was even coming from? So what if he found Dirk Strider an outstanding fellow, it didn’t mean anything, everyone with functioning eyes and brains would feel the same.

“I am not crushing on anyone, _Jade_ , don’t just assume things!”

Jade laughed and raised her hands in a defensive gesture.

“Calm down, brother dear, I was just joking!” She paused and smiled wickedly. “…Or was I? Okay, okay, I was! But for the record, think, when was the last time you called someone perfect or brilliant… Fictional characters don’t count!” She exclaimed when Jake opened his mouth to retort with a few names of brave literary heroes. “I meant real people. People who aren’t your family!!” She shut him off again, and this actually got Jake thinking.

If Jake was honest with himself, he hated analysing his feelings. It seemed unnecessary to him, he just went with the flow of whatever emotions he wanted to feel at the moment and didn’t care about pinpointing their origins.

Jake’s history with crushes was simple and uneventful, and consisted of several short flares of affection towards a couple of fictional characters and celebrities, namely his idols: Aradia Megido and Eridan Ampora.

But Jade was right, there was something special about Dirk that he’s never saw in other people, and with the amount of people they met that was saying a lot.

***

Rose’s message arrived an hour later, and all of them, including Karkat, partook in extracting the spirit, that blinded them with blazing aquamarine light one last time and disappeared into a small piece of metal and glass that fell onto the floor with a soft clink, right near unconscious Terezi, thankfully with no visible damage.

***

As it turned out, the damage wasn’t visible because it was in her eyes.

They tactfully left the first chance to talk to Terezi to Karkat, since she was going to be needing helpful hands to pull her through, and all they had to offer was interrogation about the origins of the mirror and whatever she could remember about being possessed.

She was blinded again by the ray of light from Aranea’s crystal ball, right when the spirit was in the most fragile state, and they expected her to be devastated about the cruelty of a chance that made her enjoy her vision once more for mere minutes. But, surprisingly, when they entered the ward an hour later, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs back and forth, smiling, and laughing with Karkat about something.

“Everything happens for a reason, all that jazz,” she told them. “I was too restricted by hoping my sight will come back eventually due to some miracle, but maybe I should just adapt to living with it. In any case, now I am sure I’ve experienced the worst day of my life, and the only way right now is up.”

Karkat squeezed her hand in reassurance.

“Can you tell us what it was like?” Jake asked, sitting down on the edge of opposite bed.

“Scary,” she admitted easily, obviously she has already answered this question. “I don’t remember much besides that second when Mind was affected by heat and let its control over me slip. In that split second I could see and hear everything but didn’t pay attention to the surroundings, like my emotions were amplified, and all I could feel was fear.”

They could draw a pretty solid conclusion after this, Jake thought; the spirits fed off their vessels’ feelings.

“I can also feel the way it controlled you. Can’t make sense of how it did it, there is just this knowledge in my head. And I got the information from when your minds were scanned,” she grinned. “So there is no need for introductions, I know everything about you.”

Jade’s mouth fell open. “Seriously?! That is… I want to say amazing, but my whole life being dumped on a person whom I don’t know very well is actually quite worrying.”

Terezi laughed and waved her Karkat-free hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t blackmail you. May I remind you it was only a second, I comprehended mere snippets of thoughts and memories. And everything was so mixed up, with some of them I don’t even understand who the memory belongs too, except for Karkat, of course.”

“What did you think of Karkat’s mind?” Jake asked, trying to get the conversation on tracks of their epic love story, but Karkat glared at him, and Jade kicked him in the knee.

Terezi didn’t answer, she only laughed sharply again, and Jake couldn’t help but envy her ability to stay upbeat after a terrifying ordeal.

“So tell me,” she asked, “which one of you has a self-proclaimed pirate sister who hunts treasure around the world?”

Jake’s gaze automatically snapped to Jade, who made a comically wry face.

“Why are you looking at me? Of course I’m not a pirate!”

“It must be Aranea, because I don’t have any sisters,” Dirk said, and Terezi’s smile disappeared immediately.

“You must be careful around her,” they had to lean in to hear her lowered voice. “From what I gathered, she has never done anything illegal, but she always has ulterior motives about using everyone to benefit herself. Don’t listen to her and _don’t_ give her the mirror.”

The more they found out about Aranea, the less like a beautiful classy woman Jake initially thought she was she seemed; although he was thankful for her help with defeating the spirit.

It was a good thing that they would be up in the air again before she recovered and could do any damage – and he felt bad a little for thinking this. But that’s what they did anyway, heading towards Nocteville in peace, allowing their wounds to heal during their journey.

Jake smiled mirthfully when he saw familiar patterns of towns and fields stretching out beneath the dirigible several days later.

They were coming home.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say that Aranea is my favourite background character? She will appear again, don't worry, and so will Karkat and Terezi, because their story isn't over.
> 
> Bla-bla, [waoheas tag](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/tagged/waoheas) on tumblr, bla-bla.


	4. Let's Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the most important conversation in waoheas happens, Jake has a realization about his future, Dirk has a realization about his past - and all of this becomes a lot more influential than a spirit of Light who doesn't want to get involved.

The landing was as smooth as ever, professionally executed by Jake and Jade. The moment the dirigible was secured on the ground, Jake busted the door open, inhaled familiar humid air, looking at gloomy sky covered with lowering clouds, and grinned like a maniac.

The house looked at them with its friendly window blinds.

“We are home, good sirs!” Jake announced their presence, even though the dirigible was a dead giveaway.

Jade jumped onto the grass and twirled, her pleated skirt puffing up around her like a dome.

“Ah, civilization, finally a bed with four legs and no more water use restrictions,” Dirk said, throwing his arms up and stretching after a long period of sitting.

Bec ran in circles around Jade, poking a stick at her, asking to play with him.

The normality and domesticity of the scene struck Jake with usual deep affection towards home.

Spades Slick came out of the house, wearing a sharp black suit (has this man ever worn anything else?), this time without his teammates. That wasn’t an unusual sight, after all, guarding the Harleys’ home was merely their side source of income.

“Welcome back, Mr. English, Miss Harley, and...” He looked at Dirk.

“Mr. Strider,” Jake prompted.

“Of course. Is Mr. Strider going to be a permanent addition to your household?”

Jake looked at Dirk with uncertainty. They have never discussed the time scope of this affair, he assumed Dirk would travel with them at least until the magic matters are taken care of, which could easily vary from one month to several years.

“Um, well, sort of...”

“For an undetermined period of time,” Dirk said.

“He is like our special guest,” Jade added, waving a stick at Bec.

“Splitting your guests into categories would only work if you’d ever had more than one guest in this house,” Slick raised one eyebrow – the one with the stitch didn’t move.

Jake frowned, but couldn’t dare to speak against him. He was just that intimidating.

“By the way, someone asked for you the other day,” he continued, lighting a cigarette and exhaling a puff of smoke.

“Really?” Jake didn’t know if he should feel surprised or concerned. “What did they want?”

“No idea. We told them you are not living here anymore.”

“Why?” Jade frowned. “What if they wanted something important?”

“What kind of important things would anyone want from kids like you?” Slick’s voice was more unimpressed than they’ve ever heard. “Besides, our job here is to guard the house. This means driving possible intruders away.”

Jake’s emotions tipped in favour of concern, and he exchanged glances with Jade – there were no better experts in Nocteville population than the Midnight Crew, and if they didn’t know someone, the twins should really ponder the question about what kind of an outsider wanted to find them. Terezi’s warning about Aranea flashed in his mind immediately.

“Was it a woman?” He asked. “Brown skin, short black hair, blue eyes?”

“Indeed, there was a dark-skinned brunette, but with long curls. She also had two men with her.”

Not Aranea then; actually, they couldn’t remember pissing off anyone who would fit this description.

Maybe there was nothing to worry about after all, but they told Slick to continue keeping the secret anyway.

***

The next day started with Dirk buying materials needed to turn his blueprints into reality, Jade being bogged in sorting out the pile of daily newspapers and bills they missed while they were gone, while Jake focused on doing important things, like procrastinating his writing and instead thinking if they should get a team uniform with letters DH embroidered on their chests.

Dirk sat indoors during most of the day, occasionally calling for Bec to take measurements; until he finally emerged from his room, holding a prototype of the secondary transmitter like a newborn child.

Of course, when he said he and Bec were going to the forest to test it, both Jake and Jade tagged along.

The air still smelled strongly of moisture, the sky was just as grey as yesterday, which was definitely a blessing after blazing hot Fenestram.

Dew on the grass left wet traces on their ankles as they walked through the forest; Bec jogged along with his usual speed despite carrying two massive packs of machinery on his back, and Jade was looking at him with extreme pride, like he has just been named the strongest dog in the universe.

“Have I ever told you about one time I got lost in the forest when I was four and Bec saved me?” Jade said, happy to share fond childhood memories. “It was then when I decided I should study flora to always know which plants are edible, in case this happens again. I’ve spent hours wandering here, and I thought that in case I get hungry I will have to eat snails. Snails!”

She gesticulated wildly, and Dirk smirked.

“When I was eight, my little brother dared me to eat a snail. It was the worst day of my life,” Dirk said, and Jake pricked up his ears – Dirk sharing stories about his childhood was an occasion so rare the diamonds could envy it. Of course, it only sparked more interest in him.

“Tell me about it,” Jade snorted.

“Do you ever want to go back to the place you were born? We could make it our next destination,” Jake asked.

Dirk actually laughed at it, like Jake has just suggested the most ridiculous thing. “No way. I’ve spent seven years of my life trying to get out, why would I ever want to go back.”

“Why did you want to get away so badly?”

“Because it was a bastion of stagnation where growing up was literally impossible,” he answered sharply. “Now, do you think we came far enough to test the transmitter?”

Jake didn’t yield and ignored his last question. “Why was it so horrendous?”

Jade just regarded them curiously.

“Because it was a commune,” Dirk glanced up at the sky. The clouds were getting thicker and darker. “Thirty people lived there at best, and everyone knew your life from cover to cover, there were no secrets. It was a miserable place that was stuck a hundred years in the past, as far away from civilization as possible, and I have no intention of returning to it.”

“Oh, that does sound appalling,” Jake said, thinking how sad it was that Dirk couldn’t experience the warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia.

“Well, personally I think we are far away enough to test it,” Jade said mildly and beckoned Bec.

After Dirk checked the transmitter and declared that the connection was established successfully, he started typing the message for Rose (Jake never ceased to be amazed by how confidently he could use Morse), and Jade knelt near patient Bec on the damp grass.

“What are you writing?” She asked.

Dirk cited the message. “TT. No urgency, it’s a test to check my newest device. Reply, I need to know if you received this. As usual, waiting for any news regarding my travelling plans – DH.”

Jade gave an approving nod. “Good, in the unlikely case anyone intercepts, they won’t be able to figure out what we are talking about.”

“Maybe we should create a cipher to code our messages? This way they would be even more secure,” Jake said, settling next to Jade.

“We could do this...” Dirk mused, but then shook his head. “No, there is no need to overcomplicate, this will only make communication more difficult for us. May I remind you that you still haven’t learnt Morse, let alone the ciphered Morse.”

“Hey, I’ve learnt a great deal of letters already!” Jake raised his hands in protest. “Like A is dot-dash, B is dash-dot-dot-dot, C is, um... Dash-dot-dash-dot, I think?... Anyway, I’ll be proficient in no time.”

Jade laughed, even though she had no right to – she didn’t even learn anything herself.

“Besides, all ciphers are breakable,” Dirk continued, opening the lid on the transmitter and looking over the insides. “There will be no point.”

Jake just shrugged, a little disappointed. He really wanted to contribute more to the team. God, he hoped Dirk wouldn’t think of him as a useless tool.

The transmitter hummed, and with a sound of clunking gears it pushed out a strip of paper covered in dots and dashes. Dirk pocketed it, satisfied with what he saw, and shut the lid.

“How long are you planning on staying in Nocteville anyway?” he asked. “The transmitter is functioning, Rose has just sent her confirmation.”

“We have no particular plans,” Jake answered. A droplet fell on his nose, and he swept it off. “Just waiting for Rose to give us directions.”

“We could conduct our own research,” Jade mused. “But she knows so much more about these things.”

“I’m just worried that while we sit here, another person like Terezi might accidentally activate another vessel and go on a rampage of massive destruction.”

Jake wanted to reassure him that everything would be fine, what were the odds of this happening, but he couldn’t deny worrying about it too. He felt something like a personal responsibility for anything concerning spirits, but the only thing he could offer now was taking their minds off it.

“We can always go somewhere just for the sake of travelling,” Jake said. “Where would you like to go?”

Dirk shrugged with one shoulder. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Come on, there must be something else besides the Falls!” Jake hoped he wouldn’t need to take metaphorical pincers out again to pull some information out of him.

“Honestly, I have no preference in this department. Where would you want to take me?”

Jake’s mind exploded with a million possibilities at once, of deep rivers and mysterious caves, of mountains that touch the sky and tiny islands with magnificent nature, of every single corner of the world, because every place deserved people who would marvel at its beauty.

“Can I just say ‘the world?’ ” Jake said, wiping the now frequently falling droplets off his forehead.

Perhaps he didn’t realize it before, but he was sure of it now: he really wanted to travel the whole world with Dirk, to show him every single way of how beautiful it could be.

“Shouldn’t we get moving? The rain can mess up your transmitter,” Jade said, looking at the equipment with concern.

“Don’t worry, a little rain like this will do it no harm,” Dirk answered.

As if the nature was listening, a deafening burst of violent thunder resounded through the forest and black clouds plastered them with a wall of rain.

They jumped to their feet immediately, and not even the trees could shield them from becoming soaking wet within seconds. Jake heard someone swearing, but the pounding of the rain was so loud, he couldn’t make out who was that.

“Bec, lead us home!” Jade shouted and grabbed Jake’s hand; he, in his turn, grabbed Dirk’s, and the three of them dashed after the fuzzy white spot that was Becquerel, splashing through the quickly forming puddles to the accompaniment of reverberating grumble of thunder.

By the time they reached the protective cover of the patio roof and leaned against the wall to catch a breath, shoulders pressed together, Jake felt like he’s been dumped into the lake. The water was pouring down off them and formed a puddle under their feet, and Bec shaking the rain off himself didn’t help.

“Well shit, _now_ it’s totally ruined,” Dirk said, taking off his shades and wiping his face. Jake suddenly realized he still held his hand and let go quickly.

Dirk’s usually spiky hair now was darkened by water and plastered flatly all over his head, and Jake couldn’t suppress a laugh, eyeing this ridiculous image.

“If you looked at yourself in the mirror you wouldn’t laugh so much,” Dirk said, directing his clear orange eyes at him, and, for some reason, Jake found himself holding his breath.

They were standing too close, and Jake felt the heat of Dirk’s arm seeping through their thin wet shirts, he could make out every single dark eyelash, and the droplets of water rolling down his skin. The sunburn he got after being exposed to Fenestram’s sun was long since gone, leaving only prominent specks of freckles, and once again, Jake noted just how attractive Dirk was, especially when the corners of his mouth were lifted in this half-smile, the one that made warmth spread through Jake’s entire body despite the chilly wind.

Faintly he sensed Jade shifting on his other side and saying something about being sorry for the loss of the transmitter.

Suddenly he wished Jade wasn’t there.

This thought actually made him flinch, terrified of his own mind; the eye contact was broken, and the warmth was gone, extinguished by momentary fear. Never once in his life he has chosen somebody else’s company over Jade’s. Something was terribly wrong with him.

Jake took his glasses off quickly, wiping them with the wet scarf and saying he was going to fire up the fireplace, and continued mulling over this even after they changed into dry clothes. Not even sitting in the warm living room and drinking piping hot cocoa could get his mind back on track, even though he was just looking through the same arguments over and over.

On one hand, Jade was his sister whom he loved dearly, the only family he had left, and without whom he couldn’t phantom having an adventure. They never were separate entities, it was always Jake-and-Jade.

On the other hand, there was Dirk, their new friend, a genius, and a fascinating person in many different ways.

Whom Jade said he was crushing on, but was that really the case? He simply admired Dirk’s fighting techniques, that’s all. And his strategic mind. And the ability to make amazing things out of scrap. And good looks. And basically everything else.

Jake nearly groaned. When said like this, it did sound like a crush – but it wasn’t, it couldn’t be. If he had time, he would’ve found the words to make it sound like it wasn’t.

“You didn’t catch a cold, did you, Jake? You don’t look so well,” Jade’s voice was laced with concern. She was sitting in front of the fireplace with her hair wrapped in a towel, brushing Bec’s fur to make him dry up faster. Dirk lifted his head from the transmitter he was covering in waterproof material.

They were bathing in warm light of the fire and sweet smell of the burning pine firewood, contrasting with the cold heavy rain on the outside, which darkened the sky, making it seem like an early evening.

So Jake did what he did best – pushed his concerns away in order not to spoil the day for them and smiled.

“I’m just peachy,” Jake looked down at the book he grabbed randomly when he entered the room, _‘How To Choose a Fishing Rode’_. It was opened on chapter ten, but he couldn’t remember a word he read.

He continued flipping the pages, pretending not to look at Dirk, with his quick hands and golden hair.

“Becquerel, will you do the honours of testing the transmitter’s durability again?” Dirk asked after finishing the last layer of protective fabric.

Bec shook his fluffy dry fur and turned his back on him pointedly. Jade burst out laughing, and Dirk stood up with a shrug.

“Oh well, I’ll just drown it in the bathtub then. Same thing.”

The bathtub experiment proved the transmitter to be suitable even for diving, and the rain continued throughout the rest of the day, so they spent it playing board games in front of the fireplace.

To be fair, Jake wished Rose would take a long time to send them any more leads. It would be so great to stay here for a while, in a warm safe house, just having fun together, while the storm was raging on the outside.

That night he twisted and turned, unable to fall asleep, blaming the thunderstorm for it – and thinking the fact that he got so used to Dirk’s presence in their room in the dirigible had nothing to do with it.

***

The next morning started with rain still going on full force, and, more importantly, several messages from Rose. She explained that she finished figuring out what information the destroyed journal contained, and the only symbols she got were the ones of Mind, Light, Doom, Rage, and Breath. This could only mean two things: either the changes were written somewhere else, or they just didn’t exist at all. Rose said that the second possibility was more likely, and the thought of someone carrying a pretty trinket that was, it fact, a vessel with an evil spirit inside ruined Jake’s idyll of thunderstorm-and-fireplace a bit.

The next day they realised that, apparently, rain had no intention of stopping.

Jade announced that she was bored as soon as they got up, and sent everyone to do the major cleaning, and by the time afternoon rolled around they were knees deep in dust that always accumulated somehow, no matter how long they were gone.

Jake was stuck in Grandpa’s old study – not because it was a hard place to clean, but because practically everything he pulled out of the desk made him feel a rush of nostalgia, an awful yet pleasant sadness of remembering the old days that only something belonging to the past could give you.

With a wistful smile he retrieved a small picture in a wooden frame, and two people, a young man and woman, smiled back.

June Harley was wearing round glasses like Jade, her wide smile revealed buck teeth; Joss Harley was twisting the end of his moustache in a jaunty manner and laughing at something no one will ever know.

He will never be able to come to terms with their deaths.

So he pocketed the picture and went down the stairs to the living room.

“Hey, Dirk, look what I found,” he said.

Dirk, who fought for the right to help them like it was a personal offense not to, jumped from the ladder, where he was swiping the shelves.

“Your grandparents?” He asked, wiping his hands off on his pants and taking the picture.

“Yes, in all their thirty-year-old glory,” Jake said.

“They look happy.”

“Of course they do, they are alive.”

“Are there any pictures of them with your parents?” Dirk asked, looking over the rows of frames on the walls.

Jake opened his mouth and snapped it shut, a realization striking him.

“Uh... Well, there are a lot with them and our Dad as a kid, but... Not with Mom, no.”

He only ever saw separate pictures of the two couples, but never the four of them together.

Dirk passed the picture back to Jake, brushing his fingers while doing so.

“Perhaps those were kept at your parents’ place,” he said, and Jake was grateful for the words of support.

He was even more grateful when Dirk asked him to tell something else about June and Joss; this wasn’t the first time he asked it, but Jake was always thankful for an opportunity to indulge in his favourite topic – talking about his family in the most nostalgic ways.

“Grandpa used to take us hunting all the time, he cultivated love for firearms in Jade and me. And Grandma told us so many different stories and legends, including the Legend of Twelve Spirits, and her words made it so vivid and real…” He paused, remembering how inspired she sounded. “She must’ve known magic was real.”

“But you said it before, she would’ve told you if she knew for sure.”

Jake shrugged. “Maybe because she didn’t have any proof… I don’t know. Anyway, why are we talking about me again? Tell me something about your family, literally anything.”

Dirk was silent for a few moments, pondering what he should say.

“Well, for example I’ve got my katana from my grandfather, who used to be a blacksmith. He made many different things, including blades. When people in our commune died, their property was evenly split between everyone, so when grandfather died, people pilfered everything he has ever made. I ended up owning this katana, and my brothers picked their own blades too,” he hummed. “Well, as much as you can pick something, being a one-month-old baby.”

Jake leaned against the shelf. “Tell me something else about your brothers.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, anything! Hearing about other person’s family is always so interesting. Do you have a picture of them?”

“No, but you don’t need a picture. Just imagine this face,” Dirk pressed his fingers to his cheeks, “being triplicated, and there you have us.”

Jake smiled and tilted his head. “You know that the more mysterious you are being about them, the more I am becoming interested?”

Dirk scoffed. “I am not being mysterious, there just isn’t much to tell. Our relationship was strained, to say the least. To say the most, I haven’t been in contact with them for the past five years and I have no idea how they are doing.”

“That’s a shame… Are you sure you don’t want to visit them?”

“No,” Dirk said, making it clear that it was the end of the conversation. Jake wanted to promise himself that he would drop the subject altogether, since he had no right intrude into other people’s lives, but a chance to learn about Dirk’s family was too tempting, so he decided to poke at this question some time later.

But for now he went back to telling literally countless stories of their childhood; besides, constant talking helped him to get distracted from the weird feeling of his insides being turning into a swarm of excited bees every time they stood close to each other or brushed hands accidently, which happened quite often while cleaning those shelves.

The study was forgotten somehow.

“Jake, why are all the records messed up?” Jade’s voice rang when they were taking a break from inhaling dust.

She dragged a large box from the basement (of course she got the most fascinating place to clean), panting, and threw it on the floor.

“Oh, I gave Dirk the recording of ‘Time’... You don’t mind, do you?” Jake realized that his question was too belated.

Jade sent a very unnecessary wink his way. “Of course not. In any case, I’m ready to hear some funky beats!”

She took one of the records and put it on the gramophone.

“ _The Moonlight Waltz For Violin_ ,” Dirk read the description on the record’s cover. “Why are you trying to sell us this bleakness, we have enough already with the weather outside.”

“Classic music is not bleak, it’s a stereotype!” Jade objected and placed the needle on the record.

Brisk melody started playing, and she spun around the room with her eyes closed and a pensive expression, stopping in front of Jake and Dirk after a few circles and frowning comically.

“Come on, don’t be a bore, you can’t expect me to dance by myself.”

She looked at both of them expectantly, and when no one answered, she clutched her head and winced.

“Oh no, help, I’m coming down with the dreaded dancing fever, I need someone to dance with me to survive, pronto! Come on, Dirk,” Jade tried to grab his hands, but he hid them out of her reach.

“No way, ask Jake.”

Jade laughed. “I can’t, it won’t work! He is my brother, I need a potential romantic partner to cure this terrifying illness!”

She managed to grip his wrists and pulled him out at the middle of the room forcefully, going around in sloppy circles that barely resembled a dance at all, let alone a waltz.

“Too bad the disease is going to off you anyway, Jade, you have zero potential romantic partners in this room,” Dirk flashed a smile at her, playing along with her antics and wrapping a hand around her waist, and Jade giggled, of course realizing how ridiculous they looked.

Jake smiled absent-mindedly, like he always did when he saw his sister having a good time, but this time... This time something seemed odd, like everyone wasn’t in their right places.

They really were getting along, Jake realized, remembering his initial fear of Jade not liking Dirk, but now he saw that his fear was in vain. They became friends just fine... Maybe too fine.

The combination of Dirk, Jade, and romance wasn’t right. The thought of them possibly getting together was an unpleasant one – and not because of Jade, but because of Dirk.

Because what he really wanted right now was to be at Jade’s place.

The smile slowly slipped off his face.

And as if Jade could read his thoughts, she said, “Hey Mr. Grumpy Pants, don’t be so glum, come join us!”

And before Jake could gather his thoughts, he found himself standing near Jade and Dirk, with his wrist in Jade’s tight grip.

“Wasn’t your inability to invite Jake the main rule of your cure?”

“Well, yeah...” Jade sounded disappointed, but only for a moment. “Gotta obey my own rules, don’t I? Looks like there’s only one choice then,” she pushed Jake towards Dirk so hard that he stumbled forward and ended up with his face pressed in Dirk’s shoulder.

“Whoa nelly,” he felt his cheeks heating up, and he stepped back immediately, whipping his head around to glare at Jade. She looked at him with an amused glint in her eyes.

“No way, that’s going to be a disaster!” He stammered and stole a glance at Dirk. “I – I mean, not because of you, but because of... Uh, I mean, maybe we’ll just do it later?”

Jade snorted and covered her mouth with one hand.

“You know, when there’ll be _no spectators_ ,” he glared at Jade again.

“Don’t sweat it, dude, it just gives me time to actually learn how to use these weird sprouts growing at the bottom of my body to form something they call ‘dancing steps,’ ” Dirk said; Jade laughed, and Jake smiled awkwardly, still not daring to look away up from the carpet.

He took the record off, just in spite Jade, and busied himself with searching for a more suitable song to avoid responding and looking at Dirk. Mentally, he was begging for something to happen, he would even take a lightning striking the roof – everything to escape the situation he’s accidentally gotten himself into.

Thankfully, a distraction didn’t keep him waiting.

“A message from Rose!!” Jake rejoiced (maybe a little too loud) at having a reason to divert everyone’s attention to a piece of paper with a familiar pattern sticking out of Bec’s mouth. “What does it say, did she find a new lead? A new spell?”

Dirk unrolled the paper and frowned, “Time to hit the road, people, Rose says she’s been robbed.”

It seemed that fate favoured Jake and decided to give him a gift of not having to dwell on his newly discovered jealousy and other feelings.

***

On one hand, it was sad to leave home after only a couple of rainy days; but on the other hand, there was something exciting about living a life on the run, being able to pack and go up in the air the moment they received a distress signal from a person in need to be saved. This was the adventure Jake has always wanted, the one where real lives were at stake, not just mindless hopping through the jungle pretending it was useful.

The most worrying thing about this incident was the fact that the robbers took the crystal ball and Rose’s journals, nothing else. It was a precise operation that made it obvious that they had a very specific magic-related goal in mind.

Jake has read a few detectives, even though this wasn’t his favourite genre, and knew the rules of a basic investigation. That’s why he gathered everyone in the common room to discuss the possible culprit as soon as the engines roared up.

“Nobody but us knew about this spirit ballyhoo,” Jake said, pacing back and forth in front of Dirk, Jade, and Bec. “So we need to look through everyone we know could be interested in getting involved with the spirits.”

“Which is not a lot,” Jade said. “Just Aranea and that museum guy.”

“Sollux? But he didn’t know about Rose, not even we knew about her at the moment,” Jake objected.

He still felt guilty sometimes when he thought about him, especially considering how they didn’t wait for him to come to his senses to apologize face-to-face. Sometimes he even thought about finding him again, but he always discarded this thought as ridiculous – Sollux has probably forgotten them already.

“Don’t forget Karkat and Terezi,” Dirk said, and Jake shook his head immediately.

“No-no, they wouldn’t do it, they are good people.”

“How could you be sure? You’ve only knew them for a day.”

“Because they are marvellous, and they helped us!”

“Aranea helped us too, but whatever,” Dirk said, clearly not convinced.

Jake couldn’t grasp why – Karkat and Terezi were obviously great people who were in love, which of course meant they couldn’t be the villains. If Dirk had a chance to get to know them better he would see it too.

“That snollygoster Aranea is an obvious answer,” Jake said. “She must have gotten out of the hospital by now. And maybe she was the one who looked for us, after all. She could hire someone.”

“Like her sister,” Jade added. “Remember, Terezi said she was a pirate.”

“Exactly! She could tell her sister to go to Nocteville, and go to Rose’s place in the meantime!” He looked at the others triumphantly. “All the evidence is coming together!”

“Good job, Detective English,” Dirk patted Jake’s hand. His heart skipped a bit. “Now there’s just the tiniest bit of work left – finding the thieves and the stolen crystal ball.”

There was nothing left to do without an actual investigation at Rose’s house, so Jake set on spending the rest of the day on useful stuff, like learning the rest of the Morse alphabet and throwing sideway glances at Dirk and Jade, who talked about something quietly in the corner of the room, where he couldn’t hear them.

The thought that started out as a random thing became nagging, it curled up in his stomach causing dull pain, with no intention to leave.

Of course, there were moments when he was angry at Jade throughout their lives, but never once did she cause him to be jealous; he has never thought jealousy would feel like this.

It was an all-new territory, a dangerous one, because if even _Jade_ posed some kind of competition, this was getting out of control.

And god knows, bona fide relationships were always his dream but never his forte, because he simply didn’t know how to handle them.

He was staring at the letter L for solid five minutes now, unable to memorize its pattern of dots and dashes.

“Earth to Jake, hello-o!”

He jerked in surprise when Jade’s hand waved in front of his face; he was so lost in thought he didn’t even notice her sitting next to him.

“Spill your guts, brother dear, why do you look like you’ve just seen a puppy drowning?” She asked, and Jake smiled uneasily. Admitting any of his weird emotions out loud wasn’t in his plans.

“Come on,” Jade nudged him. “I am your sister; whom can you tell your secrets, if not me?”

Jake contemplated his situation – since it was troubling him it would be good to know the truth about the nature of Dirk and Jade’ relationship; he had to ask a very careful question, so that she wouldn’t suspect anything.

He cleared his throat.

“So are you in love with him?”

Jade blinked slowly and then roared with laughter that shook her entire body.

“Oh my god,” she wiped tears from under her glasses. “This is the stupidest thing you’ve ever said, brother dear. Of course not, how did you even come to this earth-shuttering conclusion?”

Jake glared at her. “I don’t know, you talk a lot.”

She giggled. “That’s what friends do, dummy. Us getting together is, like, physically impossible.”

“Of course not, that’s preposterous,” Jake muttered. He really hoped Jade’s objection would loosen the knot in his stomach, but nothing has changed.

“Sorry if we made you feel left out,” Jade smiled apologetically. “You can always intrude our conversations... Unless, of course, we are tackling some private topics,” she winked.

Curiosity picked up instantly, and Jake pondered what kind of private things they could talk about. It certainly didn’t help convince him in verity of Jade’s words.

Later that day Dirk offered to teach him Morse mnemonics, and, of course, Jake couldn’t pass this opportunity, trying to focus on remembering that a syllabic mnemonic for Q is “Queen’s crowning day”, not on how Dirk’s voice sounded, or the way a thin white shirt was unbuttoned, exposing the collarbone and a patch of skin with a faint scar.

At night, when Jake was ready to drift asleep under the protective warmth of the sleeping bag, listening to the engines rumbles mixing with the sound of Dirk’s breathing perfectly, the abstract thoughts that have been nagging corners of his mind for the past few days were slowly taking shape, and finally they came together in one clear reason for his anxiety.

His eyes flew open, and he sat up immediately. He was in danger of committing the most horrendous of crimes – treachery.

Jake stood up carefully to avoid waking his roommate, and sneaked to the door, into the corridor, and into Jade’s room. Bec raised his head, ears standing up on alert, but Jake shushed him.

“Jade,” he shook his sister’s shoulder. “Jade, wake up!”

“Wha– fuckyou, Jake, itsnight,” she asked, rubbing her eyes and yawning widely, pulling herself out of the sleeping bag. “Somthin’ wrong?”

“Yes… No. Kind of. I need to talk to you,” Jake said, nervous, because even with Jade there were certain things he had trouble discussing. But thankfully, it was night, and darkness always was liberating.

“Okay,” she put on her glasses, a lot more awake now. “Let’s talk.”

Jake fiddled with a stray thread sticking out of Jade’s bag, not looking her in the eye.

“Imagine a purely hypothetical situation of me finding someone whom I… really like. In a romantic way. Would you be okay with it?”

“Yes, of course! Why on Earth would I be against you dating someone?”

“Well, you are my sister…”

“And? You think I would judge you? Frankly, I am offended,” she flung her hair, tied in a ponytail for the night, over her shoulder.

“It’s not about judging,” he sighed. Jade was the kindest person alive, of course she wouldn’t judge him for anything. The true nature of his feelings would be hard to put into words, but he hoped that Jade would understand what he meant without having to explain. She was his _twin_ , after all.

“You, and I, and Bec are all that’s left of the Harleys. What will happen to you if I find someone else?”

“I don’t think I understand,” she sounded confused.

Jake closed his eyes.

“If I find someone else, we won’t be together anymore, all of this,” he gesticulated around the room, “will come to an end.”

Jade looked at him with pity.

“Unless you burn down the dirigible, nothing will prevent us from getting together and visiting an interesting place, even when we are going live in different cities in the future. I will still be your sister, you can still wake me up in the middle of the night to talk about feelings,” she nudged him with a knee and smiled. “It’s alright to desire changes, Jake.”

Jake simply stared at her in shock. “How long did you want to have your own house and everything?”

Jade fidgeted and made a scene of smoothing the wrinkles on her night gown. “I don’t know. I guess it was always a part of how I envisioned my future. Did you really think we would be travelling together like this forever, till we died of old age?”

Jake wanted to say yes, but then he realized – he has never pictured his future. For him, the future was an abstract concept that was merely an extension of whatever was happening at any given moment.

But imagining Jade living in another city, miles and miles away – this was wrong.

“But that’s not what Grandma admonished…”

“What did she _admonish_ , exactly?”

“Always stay together,” Jake cited.

“Well, she didn’t mean to be literally glued together. I am still going to help you out any time you ask, even after I move to Sandford.”

The Sandford Science Centre, of course, Jade’s dream job. How come he has never added two and two together and figured she would want to live there, and not just work from Nocteville remotely? Why was he so near-sighted? He has always focused so much on enjoying the perfect ways of the present and wallowing in the nostalgia of the past that he completely forgot to look in the future.

“You... want your own family there?”

“No,” she sighed. “Most likely not. But eventually I am going to need some personal space anyway, whether I live alone or not.”

She sat straighter and looked at him with a serious expression he has never seen before.

“Jake, I know it must be hard for you to accept, you have always been the traditions-keeping kind of guy… But people and relationships are bound to change, this is a natural progression of things. We are not stagnating, we are growing up, and if our priorities are shifting, it’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“So, you don’t think it’s betrayal?”

“Choosing a future is not betrayal to the past – well, at least not in your case,” she squeezed his arm and smiled. Finally; all this seriousness was starting to get heavy.

Jade yawned. “Anything else you would like to tell me? You’ve got twenty more minutes before the therapy session is closed due to therapist going back to sleep.”

Jake pondered if he should tell Jade about Dirk. It was a delicate topic, but at the same time Jade has always been an outlet for his troubles, and this shouldn’t be an exception. He had literally no one else to talk to about this.

“So... What if this hypothetical situation was happening to me and Dirk, for example?”

Jade choked mid-yawn and snorted.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she covered her mouth. “It’s just... The thing I told you about days ago is actually happening! Who would’ve guessed!”

“This is no laughing matter,” Jake levelled her with a displeased stare, feeling slightly offended to be disregarded like this.

“Oh come on, let me have at least one ‘ _I told you so!’_ ”

“Jade.”

“Okay, okay, sorry,” she inhaled deeply and assumed an air of seriousness again. “I know this is a serious matter for you. So you are in love with him? Well, you have my approval.”

“I...” He hesitated. “I don’t know?”

It seemed like too huge of a declaration to make for something so new, he didn’t like throwing words like ‘love’ around. But on the other hand, how he could be completely sure whether this was true love or not if he has never felt this way before?

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Jade yawned.

“But what do I do now?” There, he said it. The question that summed up his entire bundle of emotions.

“Dunno, tell him?”

“You are joking, right.”

Jade shrugged. “Should have asked someone else if you wanted proper advice. But if you want mine, I’d say there should be less of ‘high five mate’ and more of ‘let’s go stargaze romantically.’ ”

“Stargaze?”

“Or something else, I don’t know, you are a writer, Jake, you should be the one explaining me the ways of courting! Imagine writing a romantic story, what would happen next?”

Jade had a point, as usual. He has read dozens of guides written by the masters of true romance, so he pondered what would the authors he admired write about them.

“We would kiss in front of an erupting volcano with dragons flying everywhere?”

Jade blinked in confusion.

“Forget I asked,” she groaned and fell back on the pillow.

Jake patted her elbow.

“Thank you, Jade. If you ever need me to return the favour and talk about something...”

“Yeah-yeah, sure, whatever, you’re w-welcome,” she yawned. “Now get out of my room.”

As Jake stepped into the corridor, barely illuminated by the natural light of the night, he kept thinking about what Jade said and the new problems it aroused, the ones he didn’t bother to think about before; but their conversation also brought something he desperately desired: relief.

As for the unknown that was now awaiting him – well, maybe fate would be kind enough to resolve the problems for him again.

***

The next morning greeted Jake with barking.

After he reluctantly got out of the sleeping bag and brushed his teeth, he tumbled into the living room, where Dirk and Jade were sitting, fully dressed. Both of them held plates with different combinations of dots and dashes and showed them to Bec, who replied with series of barks.

“How come you two always manage to get up in such an ungodly hour?” Jake asked, going straight to the kitchen and pouring himself a huge mug of tea.

“Maybe because we don’t wake up in the middle of the night to contemplate life choices?” Jade laughed, and Jake immediately hid his face behind the mug. He wished Jade wouldn’t bring up their conversation at all, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle the embarrassment in the light of the day.

This resulted in thinking about what he felt about Dirk, and Jake glanced at him, his brain automatically noting how good Dirk looked in a black tank top, and he busied himself with getting silverware out to avoid any possible suspicion.

“Anyway, look what Bec can do!” Jade showed the dog one of the plates, and he let out four barks. “Amazing, right?”

“He... reads Morse?”

“He doesn’t remember the letters,” Dirk replied. “But he knows that dash means long bark and dot means short bark, which is still pretty impressive, at least for me. I never knew dogs were so smart.”

“I told you a million times, Dirk, you should get a dog, you’ll learn to appreciate them even more!” Jade squished Bec’s snout to prove her point.

Dirk just shrugged with one shoulder.

“I don’t know how well it would sit with Equius’s love for horses and Nepeta’s love for cats.”

“You know, Jake, you can study with Bec too,” Jade said innocently, and Jake scowled.

“I don’t need to study with _Bec_ , I remember everything – C is ‘Cruel ruler’, D is ‘Dog did it’, et cetera, et cetera,” he said and sat near them.

Thankfully, Jade didn’t bring up their night-time conversation throughout the rest of the trip; she merely grinned like a maniac whenever she saw Jake trying to strike up a friendly easygoing chat with Dirk.

***

When they arrived in Avis, impatient Rose met them on the porch of her house.

“Finally, what took you so long!” She exclaimed, and continued without waiting for a reply. “Kanaya and I investigated as much as we could by ourselves, we were hoping for your help, we would hate to succumb to hiring private detectives and bringing in new people in general.”

She led them to the kitchen table, where Kanaya – a lot more calm and collected – served them coffee.

“We asked the neighbours about unusual people they might have seen, and they told us they saw a trio arriving on a dirigible, a woman and two men.”

Jade gasped. “Just like Mr. Slick said were looking for us, our theory must be correct!”

“What theory?” Rose frowned.

And they told Rose and Kanaya their story from the very beginning, starting with arriving at Fenestram, told her about Terezi’s revelation about Aranea’s sister, and what Spades Slick told them in Nocteville.

When they finished, Rose was deep in thought.

“How did she manage to find both you and me in such a short amount of time if you didn’t tell anyone where we live?”

“Maybe she just searched for all the Roses in the Empire,” Jade suggested with hesitation.

“Does it really matter?” Jake asked, meaning to say that they should deal with the result of the robbery, the ways of achieving it can be discussed later, but Rose shot him an icy glare before he could explain himself.

“Of course it matters, we should find the sources and eliminate them.”

Dirk stood up abruptly. “As for me, I need to visit CT.”

“Huh? Why?” Jade asked.

“Clearly, because he is the next obvious victim,” Kanaya answered.

“Can I... I mean, do you want me to come along?” Jake said and winced internally; this sounded horribly awkward.

“Nah, I’ll manage, it won’t take more than an hour,” Dirk said and disappeared in the doorway.

Jake spun the empty tea mug around. Frankly, he had no idea what to do now, since if there were any more clues, Rose and Kanaya would have found them. They should’ve just gone straight to Fenestram and interrogated Aranea.

***

Dirk was walking through the all too familiar streets of Avis, noticing the new buildings and shops and finding it unbelievable that he was absent for more than a month.

Actually, he saw a lot of unbelievable things, and he would put meeting Jake and Jade on a par with the magic, spirits, and thousand-year-old conspiracies. Somehow, he got lucky enough to not only meet the Harleys’ grandchildren, but people, who were incredible on their own, and who had many mysteries attached to them.

Perhaps, it was natural progression of things, the streak of having nothing had to end eventually.

Too bad he didn’t have much to offer in return, expect for his engineering skills, and protection in this quest, since he was still stuck on step one of his life’s grand plan: making himself into someone worthy. Perhaps, he should have been concerned that he was stuck there for the past six years – but now he knew that he simply didn’t have much motivation to carry it out before.

Although, now there was Jake, who was a completely new type of person, someone who has reminded him what it was like to care for other people. He liked joking with him, seeing his toothy smile, being the cause of it, and his compliments always made him flustered, even though he’s never showed it.

Absent-mindedly, Dirk wondered if he could make something the inventors in Jake’s adventure novels were always mentioned having, like a breakfast machine, or a harpoon gun. Jake would probably like that.

Maybe in different ways, but he liked both Jake and Jade, and was torn between wanting to enjoy the moment while it lasted and reminding himself not to get too attached, because nothing could last forever, and their magic world-saving escapade would eventually come to an end. Although, that last warning probably came too late, since not getting attached was practically impossible. Like he said before, he has already become one letter of Dace Hagler, there was no way back.

Being the largest city in the world, Avis could afford having an intercity train line, so the trip through the centre to Centaur Technologies was relatively short.

The moment he walked into the CT building, he was swept by a storm of wild black hair and extremely strong hands, that was so unexpected it almost made him reach for his katana – Nepeta must have started working out with Equius, because he didn’t remember her being so strong she could lift him off the ground effortlessly.

“Our prodigical son has returned!” She exclaimed, and Dirk wanted to protest that him being her son didn’t make any sense, because she was only twelve years older than him, but couldn’t squeeze out a word.

Finally she let go of him and smiled happily; Nepeta has always been too fond of people.

“I am not coming back,” Dirk said. “Not now, at least. I just wanted to ask, was there someone looking for me in the past twenty-six days? Someone whom you didn’t know?”

Nepeta’s brows furrowed in confusion, and she shook her head.

“Alright then, I have to warn you, and pass the warning to Mr. Zahhak – if anyone comes looking, anyone at all, I don’t live here anymore. Tell them I moved somewhere, the further the better, maybe on Halitus Island to join the revolution. It’s for your own safety.”

Dirk added the last part both to emphasize the importance of his request and out of genuine concern, since the culprits could try to use Nepeta and Equius as leverage.

Nepeta leaned against the reception table and studied him with an utterly serious expression.

“What have you been up to the last month exactly?”

“It’s confidential. We are fighting for a good cause though.”

The less they knew the better. Besides, the truth was so peculiar, he wasn’t sure Nepeta would believe him, and he didn’t want to lose the specks of trust she had, since her and Equius’s help could come in handy eventually.

Nepeta sighed; over the course of five years Dirk lived in their house, she seemed to have learned that she wouldn’t be able to pull information out of Dirk if he didn’t want to share, but she still looked extremely disappointed.

“At least I hope you have someone to share this super-secret thing with.”

“Yes, I have… friends.”

“Good, that’s very good… There’s nothing worse than feeling alone,” she smiled sadly.

On the way to his room in the attic Dirk passed Equius, who was so engrossed in his new project that he didn’t even pay attention to Dirk saying hello.

Mostly, he wanted to pack some more extra clothes, because judging by the rate at which they were being torn, burnt, and destroyed in fights with outworldly creatures, soon he would have to parade around the dirigible naked.

Then he went through the desk drawers, searching for something interesting; since Jake told him everything about his and Jade’s lives and expressed interest in Dirk’s, he thought he could show him something. However, when he saw nothing but spare parts and snack wrappers he forgot to throw away, and no items of personal significance, a realization stroke him – he led a truly uneventful life that didn’t even deserve one photo to be taken of. His desire to leave the commune where nothing personal was allowed, and Canteth where Dane’s personality, who immediately assumed control and command the moment they moved, overlapped everything, didn’t amount to anything at all.

Sometimes he wondered what became of Dane and Dave, especially of Dave, who was almost seventeen now. He wondered if he became Dane’s exact copy, like Dane expected both of them to be. When they used to live in Torpos it was hard to have an identity, and when they left for Canteth, and Dane created what was now the typical Strider look – styled hair, pointy shades, and zero visible emotions – Dirk and Dave had nothing else to do but to follow him.

Suddenly something small hit him in the head, which turned out to be a tiny roll of paper that rocketed out of a pneumatic tube. The note said in Nepeta’s handwriting: _“There’s a man asking for you, go look at him, I’m stalling.”_

Without further thinking Dirk dumped the contents of the wardrobe into his bag, including a dozen old shirts he wouldn’t regret losing, and sneaked on the staircase without making a sound.

Nepeta’s cheerful voice could be heard loud and clear, words flying out like a machine gun fire.

“…terrible employee anyway. So I say good riddance, am I right? Still feels empty here sometimes, if you know what I mean, like a cake without icing. Speaking of cakes, do you have a horse? May I interest you in purchasing some horseshoes? Our special offer for today is customized colours! We have pink, we have baby blue, we have mint green…”

The man’s polite smile was painfully strained, but he didn’t try to stop Nepeta’s rant – not that he could, even if he wanted to. Dirk got plenty of time to look him over: he was short, even shorter than Nepeta, and had light brown hair with an undercut, styled in a mohawk. His shirt was thin and had short sleeves – he must have come here by train.

The man’s face was open and kind, even childish; his picture could be put in the section “About good and evil” in a kid’s book, entitled “People who can be trusted” – and Dirk couln’t trust this kind of face for one bit.

“Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to buy anything, so, I think I’d better go...” The man said when Nepeta stopped to take a breath – Dirk was sure he didn’t catch any of the questions she asked. The man spoke in a quiet stuttering tone, like he wasn’t certain in any of the words he was saying.

“Ah, such a shame,” Nepeta sighed deeply. “Oh well, tell your friends to come by, we have 20% discounts on Fridays!” She yelled cheerfully and waved while the man ran off like his life depended on it.

“Thank you, Miss Leijon,” Dirk muttered, and climbed out of the window, landing on the neatly mowed lawn of Centaur Technologies’ backyard.

If he’s got lucky enough to catch one of their new opponents in the act, it meant he had some spying to do.

Dirk flattened his hair, hunched his shoulders, pulled up the coat’s collar, and blended with the crowd of Avis citizens on the street. The shades had to come off too, he couldn’t risk being recognized.

The first place his target went to was the post office; then there were twenty agonizing minutes near the newspaper stand where he picked a bunch of magazines, and after that he finally headed to the train station.

The station was buzzing with passengers’ voices and trains’ mechanical grunts, and it was impossible to hear what the man said when buying a ticket.

However, the more Dirk followed his target, the more it became obvious that the man was completely oblivious to his surroundings. He went as far as pulling out a magazine and reading on the move after leaving the ticket office, bumping into people and apologizing non-stop.

Which made Dirk’s plan almost insultingly easy.

He dashed forward on the platform, turned around, merging with the flow of the passengers that left the recently arrived train, and brushed past the man, tripping him and making him fall, spilling all the belongings from his bag.

“Golly gee, I’m so sorry,” Dirk said, and mentally kicked himself. Why the hell was he copying Jake’s writing patterns all of a sudden?

He knelt and began searching for the train ticket under the guise of helping the man pack his things back into the bag. And bingo, there it was: issued for Tavros Nitram, final destination – Rima, time of arrival – today, 21:00.

It took a second to remember all the information, and Dirk put the ticket back with the map of the city before Tavros could notice.

“No, it’s me who should be sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Tavros sighed, trying to fit his magazines back into the bag. “Everybody keeps telling me to stop, uh, reading on the go, but I couldn’t resist. It’s just that the article, it was so interesting, like, did you know they are still investigating the robbery at the Crystal Falls museum?...”

He lifted his gaze up at Dirk’s face and trailed off.

“Oh yes, I did catch a whiff of that story. It was an accident of horrible proportions, I do hope they legalize electric chairs for the sake of punishing the thieves,” Dirk tugged his lips into a bland smile of a regular passerby and stood up swiftly. He nodded at Tavros and hurried away before he could get any ideas, putting the shades on with immense relief.

In the train back to Rose’s place he could finally relax – partly, of course, Dane’s training engraved constant alertness of his surroundings deeply in him.

***

“What if that Equius bloke told Dirk he won’t let him travel anymore? What if he locked him up and put bars on his window?” Jake paced the room, peered out of the window and then at the clock – Dirk was more than an hour late, and his imagination was painting some choice scenarios.

“For the love of god, calm down,” Jade said, throwing her hands up in exasperation and looking at Rose, as if to say, ‘look what I have to deal with’. Rose raised her eyebrows and looked back at the map of the Empire. With the help of Kanaya’s access to the governmental records, they have found eight people with the last name Serket (seven, excluding “Serket, Aranea” from Fenestram; they were surprised to learn that she was a conscientious taxpayer), all living in different cities; and thus Rose tried to lay out an optimum course for visiting all of them.

Jake ignored the exchange in favour of imagining that he could just march into CT and demand the release of his friend from the clutches of evil.

 _My gratitude is boundless, Mr. English_ , Dirk would say, while being in his arms, after Jake would rip the metal bars off his window. _Getting out of this incogitable ordeal on my own was veritably quisquose._

 _That is my devoir to the Empire, to trounce maleficence and to guard the virtuous, especially the ones who are paragons of pulchritude,_ Jake would say, a humble hero.

And if Dirk would want to kiss him after that, he wouldn’t object.

In fact, it would be an _extremely_ welcome token of gratitude.

He would cup Dirk’s face and gaze deeply into his wonderfully coloured eyes, and kiss him like he has never kissed anyone before, because he has never met anyone like Dirk before–

A pen hit him in the head.

“Wake up, man!” Jade laughed.

Jake, feeling a wave of embarrassment after coming to his senses, picked up the pen and threw it back at his sister, hitting her right in the nose, to which she replied with Rose’s purple velvet pillow, and soon things were flying in the air like grenades, while Rose watched them with a sour expression.

“Wow, has the Second Imperial War started while I was away?” Dirk’s voice rang behind him, and Jake spun around to see him standing in the doorway with a faintly smug expression.

“You are late!” Jake accused, trying to sound casual, like he didn’t fantasize about kissing him mere minutes ago. And that made him completely miss a pillow Jade launched into him – but Dirk snatched it out of the air with his usual grace.

“Careful with your weapons,” he said, passing the pillow back into Jake’s hands, brushing his fingertips over his knuckles, and Jake gulped.

“Anyway, I found out a name of one of our opponents, and a city where he has headed,” he addressed everyone.

Jade grinned. “And we’ve got an address! What’s your city?”

“And more importantly, how did you find it out?”

“Rima, and I spied at the man named Tavros Nitram and looked at his train ticket.”

He was a spy too, amazing. Jake sighed internally, realizing that his fantasy was all backwards. Dirk saving his life was a lot more likely than the other way round.

Still though, maybe he would manage. He’d just have to keep a closer eye on him.

But for now, he looked at the Serkets’ addresses they copied out of Kanaya’s directory, and found out that the only Rima address belonged to a woman named Vriska. She didn't have any recorded activity for the last month, which meant she must have become a pirate only recently.

Jake looked at Rose victoriously. “Got her! Dace Hagler is a doozy of a team, the saviours extraordinaire!”

“Oh yes, I am so happy the fate of my possessions lies in your hands,” Rose said, and honestly, Jake couldn’t understand if she was genuinely sarcastic or just joking, but he took on a sorrowful expression that was meant to represent condolences about the robbery just in case.

Rose just spared him a single glance and said, “We should get going.”

“You are coming too?” Jade asked.

“Of course,” Rose’s brows rose elegantly. “You don’t expect me to stay out of an incident that concerns me directly, do you?”

“His train arrives at 21:00,” Dirk said. “If we leave now we can outrun him.”

Jake scoffed; stupid trains, they could outrun it with even one working engine.

***

They arrived in Rima at 20:30.

Jake was worried that they would be too late and Vriska would activate the crystal ball before they arrive, but Rose reassured him that it was impossible, the ritual to release Light was created by the first Tentacle Therapist and was _a lot_ more complicated than the rest. Even if Vriska got lucky, translated the incantation, and knew the symbol of Light that should be carved on the ball, it could only be carved with a rare blue tanzanite, and it was something Rose didn’t write down in her journal.

“Never keep all information in one place, especially an easily accessible one,” she said, throwing a disapproving glance at Jake who has been writing down the happenings of today in a journal for book drafts. He hid the journal quickly and gave her the most innocent look he could master.

However, the thirty minutes of advantage they were given were completely wasted while they were walking around on foot searching for Vriska’s house.

When they reached their destination – a small undistinguished house with a flat roof situated on the outskirts of the city – Jake was about to barge in and point a gun at the villainous pirate’s face, but Rose stopped them.

“We need to take preventive measures first,” she said, giving each of them a small bag of herbs and a neatly folder paper with a spell written on it.

“What is it?” Jake asked, and Jade sniffed her bag.

“I detect hawthorn, chamomile, and bay leaves.”

“Correct, as well as several others, and I also took the Mind mirror as a source of magic. Together they make a spell of a universal binding circle; place these bags at four corners of the house, add a droplet of your blood, read the incantation, and this way if a spirit is released, it will not be able to get pass the borders.”

After they did it, they sneaked to the opened front door, past the silent rooms filled with assorted things Jake couldn’t imagine existing carelessly sprawled on the floor and various shelves. They met no guards and no people in general, but on the roof they saw a young woman with long black hair and a shark-like grin. She was wearing glasses, and her left eye was covered with a black patch.

“Uh-oh, looks like we have guests tonight, Gamzee,” she addressed a tall man with a mess of black curls sitting next to her.

Both didn’t budge, continuing to sit cross-legged, and Gamzee smiled serenely, squinting at the descending sun, like he couldn’t care less what was going on around him.

Vriska’s hand, glistening with undoubtedly stolen jewellery, was resting on Rose’s crystal ball.

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting you. I thought I will have to find you myself. I guess today is my lucky day…” She smiled even wider. “…Just like the other 364 days of the year.”

“You have something that doesn’t belong to you,” Jake said, feeling bold. “Give it back.”

Vriska laughed. “News flash, nothing in this house belongs to me.”

“Right, we know, you are a pirate…”

She scowled. “That blabbermouth Aranea couldn’t keep her lips sealed again? I will just cut her tongue off one of these days… Oh well, proper introductions are in place then. I know Miss Lalonde and Mr. Strider, of course –“

Rose’s hand rolled into a fist.

“– but you two are unknown variables.”

Jade tilted her head. “You seriously don’t know us?”

“I seriously don’t. Should I, are you famous? Because I haven’t been keeping up with pop culture lately.”

Jake was confused – how come Vriska didn’t know them if she was looking for them in Nocteville?

“Anyway, it's not like I'm interested in teenage pop bands, or whatever you guys are in. I’m Vriska, like my dearest sister has already told you, also known as Mindfang, although not many people have had a chance to hear this name yet – but I promise you, they will – and this is Gamzee, my right-hand man…”

“You should’ve waited for Tavros to make introductions,” Gamzee drawled lazily, his eyes still closed, and face turned to the sun.

“It’s not my fault Tavros is such a loser and always fails to show up on time. Even you arrived earlier than expected from Canteth, and it’s three times further away than Avis.”

“You should’ve motherfucking waited for him,” Gamzee repeated, subdued disdain hiding underneath the laziness.

“Fine, fine,” she rolled her eyes. “When he finally catches up with us, you can do the honours of introducing him all you want. Come on, humour me, tell me your names,” she addressed Jake and Jade again. “I can’t keep calling you nerd number one and nerd number two in my head. Is that what your band is called? _'Nerd^2?'_ ”

“I’m Jake, this is Jade,” Jake said quickly. “We are not in a band.”

“While it has been tremendously great to meet you, there’s still an unresolved matter of you returning our crystal ball,” Dirk said.

Vriska drummed her fingers on the said ball, being – or pretending to be – deep in thought. “I am sure we can resolve this pesky matter. How about you and I have a little chat, no spectators, just leader-to-leader?”

“If you are going to talk, talk to all of us,” he said. “Also, we don’t have a leader.”

“Oh, really?” Vriska looked genuinely disappointed. “A group without guidance is doomed to fail, you should consider taking charge. You even have a blade, which is a sign of a true leader.”

She put a hand on the hilt of a sword hidden in her long coat (the sword had the same peculiar shape as Aranea’s), but it wasn’t a threatening gesture. In fact, Vriska, with her apparent calmness, good mood, young age, and desire to talk, didn’t seem threatening at all. Maybe they could reach a consensus.

“Why do you want the ball anyway?” Jake asked.

“Why indeed would anyone want a powerful entity at their command?”

“It won’t be under your command.”

“We’ll just have to see about that,” Vriska smiled pleasantly, as if they were talking about the weather. “I will find a way, and I don’t care if you think it’s impossible. Don’t act like you are the only experts in magic in the world. Before Aranea met new people whose brains she could compost with information, she was blabbering to me, all about spirits and rituals that exist to control them. Honestly, that’s a part of why I became a pirate recently, I just couldn’t stand her constant talking. I needed an excuse to stop seeing her completely… Unfortunately, some idiot has invented telegrams and post offices.”

“Vriska, listen,” Jake said sincerely. “We’ve seen these things in action, but you haven’t. Trust me, to release one of them is a horrible idea, it could inflict danger not only on you, but other people too.”

She looked at him with pity. “It was sweet of you to warn me, but, um, how do I put it... I don’t care.”

“Alright, enough talking,” the sound of Jade cocking the rifle rang like a roll of thunder in the quietness of the evening. “Either you give us the ball –“

“Or what, you’re going to shoot me?” For the first time this evening Vriska stood up, tucking the crystal ball under her arm, and walked straight to Jade, so close that the barrel of the gun poked at her chest.

Vriska spoke arrogantly, and a confident expression didn’t leave her face. “You may think you look tough, but your hands are trembling, and the way you hold your rifle shows that you are ready to drop it any time.”

Jade’s gaze and rifle lowered slightly, and Vriska jerked her chin up in triumph.

“Should’ve kept sitting,” Dirk said, suddenly appearing behind Vriska and thrusting his sword at her – for a horrifying second Jake thought he pierced her chest, but when he saw the crystal ball rolling away, he realized that Dirk merely knocked it out from under her arm.

The ball rolled to the end of the roof and fell down before anyone could catch it.

“My ball!” Rose and Vriska gasped in unison and glared at each other, and then another voice from the ground joined them.

“Hey, Vriska? I thought you told us this ball is valuable, why is it lying on the ground?”

“Tavros!” Vriska rushed to the edge of the roof. “Here’s your chance to be useful today, take the ball and throw it to me!”

“Hey, Tavros,” Gamzee drawled, bending over the edge as well.

“Uh, alright,” Tavros said, and the ball soared upwards, pausing mid-air, and in that inspiring moment Jake whipped out his pistol, the bullet ricocheted, causing no harm to the indestructible vessel, and send it right into Rose’s hands – which immediately was pommelled out of there by Vriska’s sword like she was playing cricket; Rose elbowed her in the stomach, somehow still managing to look graceful.

The door creaked open, and Tavros observed the scene in confusion.

“Uh, I guess I’ll come back later,” he said slowly. “Hi, Gamzee.”

Gamzee waved at him.

“There he is, my best bud, who is also an expert in translations! We’ve been friends since the dawn of time, so when Vriska here kindly asked him to join her magical quest to put him professionalism to good use, I followed him,” Gamzee said, who apparently took his promise to make introductions seriously.

“There’s no time for exposition, Gamzee!” Vriska yelled, but he just shrugged her off.

“I disagree, there’s always time for telling a beautiful story about a new unity being born.”

Vriska simply huffed, turning away from him, and searched for the crystal ball.

“Ha, I’d like to see you try and get it now!” Jade exclaimed, and Jake saw that Bec curled around the ball, hiding it under his belly, and growled.

Vriska snorted, and she kicked Bec at the snout with a sharp heel of her boot, revealing immense strength.

He whimpered, falling over, and Jake’s blood boiled with anger, but it was nothing compared to Jade’s fury.

“YOU!!” She bellowed. The last time he saw her that angry was when an asshole said their grandparents deserved to die – a random guy whom they've never seen in Nocteville again.

Ugly hate painted her face, and without thinking, she cocked the rifle and shot right at the foot Vriska kicked Bec with.

She managed to dodge the bullet and grab the ball, Gamzee’s face lost all pleasantness, and he immediately stood between Vriska and Jade’s newly loaded rifle with a bat. Bec growled and tried to bite Gamzee, Dirk crossed swords with Vriska behind Jade’s back, Rose reached out to grab the ball from another side, and in this mess Jake chose to stay close to Jade and help her dodge any hits coming her way, while also grasping the barrel of her gun, making sure she didn’t shoot anyone accidentally. He couldn’t allow her to make judgements based on rage and do something she’d regret.

“Why are you even doing all this?” Jake asked desperately, as Vriska demonstrated great mastery of the sword, parring every single attack. “You won’t be able to control it, you won’t even be able to release it! You need a super rare blue tanzanite for it, and you don’t have it!”

“Oh my god,” Rose groaned and slapped a hand in her forehead. “What do you think it is on her finger?!”

Vriska smirked. “Oh, today truly is the luckiest day.”

Safely standing behind Gamzee, who, apparently, was her bodyguard, she pulled the ring off and scratched a quick a pattern on the ball with a blue stone in it.

Jake dared to look at Rose. “Sorry, I’m such a dunderwhelp...”

She just waved him off.

“What do you want in exchange for this ball?” Rose asked seriously.

Vriska’s eyebrows shot up. “There is literally nothing you can offer. This is my destiny, I have always been connected to Light. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been told stories about a goddess of knowledge and luck that could see a million years into the future, and I realized that she was the one I should become one with! And I was hoping you could help me shed some _light_ on its mysteries.”

“Ha-ha, good one, Vriska,” Tavros said from the shadows.

“Shut up, Tavros.”

“Please don’t,” Jake said in desire to fix his mistake. “We’ve seen possessed people, the spirits destroy your mind and personality, there’s nothing pleasant about it!”

“Possessed, really? Fine, your wise words convinced me,” Vriska said with a deep sigh, bowing her head. The orange sun flared in her glasses, and Jake had to do a double-take. Was she really ready to give up this easy?

And then, suddenly, she yelled, “Catch!!”, and she threw the ball at Rose, saying a long tongue-twisting word. Rose caught it reflectively – the sunlight shone through it and reflected on her chest; belated, Jake grabbed her shoulder and shouted “Be careful!”, but jerked his hand back the next moment, when he saw her skin and clothes turning crystal.

Vriska watched the transformation greedily, while Gamzee, who kept an impassive relaxed expression, stood on her guard. She lifted her eyepatch up, revealing a perfectly good eye; it seemed that it was merely a part of her pirate costume.

Rose’s silhouette turned into crystal completely, covered in symbols blaring with fire. Her multi-layered dress turned into shards of thin glass that projected plashes of sunlight on everyone.

Then she simply sat down with her eyes closed and her back unnaturally straight.

Jake turned to Vriska immediately.

“Bring her back!” He demanded, and she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on, where is your curiosity? Aren’t you just a tiny bit interested in what the immortal deity has to say?”

Jake had to admit, he was curious. If Vriska was right and the spirit could predict the future, it would be great to know what awaited them–

“Personally, I’m not,” Dirk pointed the tip on his sword at Vriska’s throat. “You know the reverse spell. Read it.”

“Where is your sense of adventure? There’s no fun in choosing the simple thing among the sea of possibilities,” Vriska sounded exasperated, pushing the blade away with an index finger. “Hey, spirit of Light, it is Vriska Serket speaking, I freed you and gave you a new vessel, and now I command you to do my bidding!”

The crystal figure continued sitting motionless, and Vriska waved a hand in front of her face.

“Hello, are you listening? I am your new master, I did what no one dared to do, you should at least acknowledge me when I’m talking to you!”

She received no reaction.

“Fine, you want me to be bad, I will be bad!” She swung her sword at her, but it bounced off like it was made of rubber, causing no damage.

“Dammit,” Vriska swore, and Jake felt weird pride, as if it was Rose’s restraint that didn’t allow the spirit to talk to her.

“Ha! Seems like your destiny is keeping silent and doing nothing,” Jade said with surprising venom in her voice.

Vriska paid no attention to her. “If you won’t talk, I’ll just read the reverse spell and shove you right back into the ball, do you want it?”

“Please do us a favour,” Dirk muttered.

Jake tensed – the other spirits reacted violently to the prospect of being captured again, and he was prepared for Light to unleash an attack, but she didn’t budge.

“Tavros!” Vriska barked. “Bring the spellbooks. It seems a demonstration is needed if we want to be taken seriously.”

“Actually, they are not called spellbooks, Vriska, they are just my journals...”

“Oh, zip your lip and give it here!” She ripped the journal out of his hands and opened it sharply. “You have one minute to start talking!”

“Maybe she can’t talk,” Jade suggested.

“I can talk,” the spirit’s voice rang like someone was clinking crystal glasses. “But I choose not to.”

Everyone stared at her in wonder.

“Why?”

“Because I see the future, and nothing that happens today matters,” she said slowly, considering every word.

“Stop talking to her and get up, we have things to do, worlds to conquer! Wasn’t it your goal two thousand years ago?” Vriska exclaimed and growled in frustration when Light ignored her once more.

She tried to grab her, but it seemed like Light was protected by a force field now and couldn’t be touched, and the force of the impact made Vriska to stumble backwards.

“I foresaw this,” Light didn’t even open her eyes while Vriska swore after almost falling.

Gamzee and Tavros exchanged worried looks, as if they were questioning their boss’s sanity.

“You know what? Fine. Fine, I won’t read the goddamn spell. But I have something better that can put your into place – your fucking sibling!”

The trio looked at her startled, and Jake’s widened eyes followed her hand as she pulled out a small black carnival mask from her pocket, decorated with glistening gemstones and soft feathers.

“You have... another... vessel?” He asked, startled.

“Of course,” Vriska looked smug. “Only idiots go without a plan B in their pocket.”

“Where did you even get it?” Jade demanded.

“Hey, no need for the attitude, I purchased it fair and square with the stolen money,” Vriska waved her off. “I didn’t want to use Rage like this, without having Light under my control first, since Rage was mostly useless according to the legends, but I guess it’ll have to do. Gamzee, you’re my test subject!”

“Yes, M’am,” Gamzee said in the same everyday voice someone agrees to take out the trash.

And before anyone could collect themselves and act against her, she slapped the mask on him – and the spell must have been said beforehand, because the mask transformed him instantly, turning him into a lanky creature with multiple thin limbs that made him look like a weird spider, two times taller than Gamzee was. The mask melted on his face, its ends twisting and rising upwards, forming black goat-like horns.

“Freedom!” The spirit roared and darted to the edge of the building, but was stopped by invisible walls of the binding circle and was thrown backwards.

“I foresaw this,” Light said haughtily, as he tried to regain balance, limbs flailing around comically.

“You, fight her!” Vriska yelled, pointing at Light, and Rage snorted.

“A human is asking me to fight Light. That’s _outrageous_.”

“True,” Light sang. “Don’t give in to your instincts and listen to my advice. This is not the right time for us. None of your accomplishments today will work in our favour.”

“Can I at least _umbrage_ some humans?!”

“You can try, but you are destined to fail. That is why the wise choice is not trying. We are merely the third and the forth to be awoken.”

“Not so _courageous_ when Time’s not here to join forces with you, huh?” Rage said smugly.

Light cracked one eye open. “I choose to stay passive because I’m smart enough to distinguish an opportune moment from a potential failure. But if you want to embarrass yourself, sure, don’t listen to me. Space would love to hear everything about how you failed to kill a bunch of non-magical humans.”

“The Mistress will be released? When?” For the first time, Rage sounded a bit calmer.

Space opened the second eye, and inclined her head slightly towards the humans. “All in due time. My recommendation – and you know that they always come from pure intentions – would be staying out of any action until we are reunited.”

The group watched the exchange without missing a word, like it was a particularly interesting tennis match.

Finally, Light turned her head towards Jade.

“Also, Jade Harley...”

“Y-yes?” Jade asked hesitantly.

Two coals shone within the depths of Light’s eyes. She beckoned her closer and whispered something; everyone strained their ears, but couldn’t hear anything.

“Until next time,” she said, and suddenly bright light shone into every plane of her body, turning into a patch of pure white light, and from it Rose and the crystal ball fell in different directions; Jade caught her immediately.

Everyone gaped, thinking the same thing – they didn’t know spirits could return to their vessels on their own accord.

“Just so you know,” Rage spit out, “I’m not doing it because I listen to this arrogant snooty know-it-all.”

“WAIT!” Jake shouted. “What future was she talking about? What reunion? When is Space going to come back?”

Even through the mask it was obvious that Rage was thinking it was the stupidest question.

“Even in our time Light only shared information with the one called Time. What makes you think I would share anything with a pesky human. If you happen to meet Space before the reunion, tell the Mistress it was my personal decision based on a rational way of acting.”

He snapped his fingers, and the next thing they knew Gamzee and the mask fell apart as well – Tavros grabbed the hem of his shirt to prevent him from toppling over, and they exchanged quiet words that nobody could hear.

Vriska’s expression could only be described as a look of pure betrayal.

“Why the hell didn’t you do anything?!” She yelled at Gamzee, and he looked at her, perplexed.

“I couldn’t control it, my mind was stolen from me,” he said. Tavros reached out, probably wanting to comfort him, but Vriska grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, telling to get the air balloon ready.

“ _My mind was stolen_ ,” Vriska mocked. “Stupid spirits. I’ve always knew the legend gave them too much credit. It seems like Space might be the only decent being among them. Oh, Light won’t get away from me so easily, I _will_ get it out again...”

She moved to grab the crystal ball, but Rose’s fist collided with her nose.

“Oh no you won’t,” she was swaying and the only thing that kept her up was Jade’s support, but at least she didn’t faint. “And you will give us the mask too, people of your type shouldn’t have this kind of power. How did you even get a hold of it?”

“You are not the only existing expert on magic, miss Tentacle Therapist. I have connections, I have authority... I have a sister, after all. I was the only one who had enough brainpower to be able to read between the lines of the legend of the Trickster, realise it was the spirit of Rage, and track it down here in Rima.”

Dirk advanced at her with his sword, but she parried his attack, shielding Gamzee who still held the mask. Jake shot, carefully aiming to miss, just in order to spook them, but Vriska didn’t seem to be afraid of anything, and Gamzee was still in kind of a trance after the fusion. Both of them moved in harmony, and neither Dirk nor Jake couldn’t reach him, meeting Vriska’s sword or fist every time they moved, and soon a huge shadow of a balloon covered them, and a ladder fell down.

Vriska took the mask from Gamzee’s hands and threw it up for Tavros to catch.

“Until next time,” she said as the ladder was being pulled up. “And I will get that ball from you, so you’d better watch your back, suckers!”

“You are a coward!” Jade yelled, throwing her head back. “Running away and leaving your house for us to raid!”

“Don’t you worry, the things I am about to receive are worth a thousand of houses like this,” Vriska said, cutting the ladder of as soon as Jade jumped to catch its end. “I still got the mask, and if you think I don’t have any more leads...”

The rest of her words were incomprehensible because the balloon got too high, and all that’s left for them to do was to watch them rise up in the air and disappear in the orange skies.

“I can shoot at their envelope,” Jade suggested.

“No, the gas would lighten, and they’d blow up...” Jake said, but his mind was focused on something else. “Now, what did Light told you?”

Dirk’s and Rose’s heads turned towards Jade immediately.

“Well,” she paused, calming herself down, and smoothing her disdained expression. “It told me where to find Breath, it’s a locket in the palace on Halitus Island... But can we trust it? I mean, why would it give away such a secret?”

“It could be its long plan,” Rose said and winced, rubbing her forehead. “It sees the future, it could have foreseen that us going to Halitus plays in its favour somehow...”

“How are you feeling?” Dirk asked.

“How do you think I’m feeling? Like my mind was poked with a million needles, and that’s a mild comparison,” she sighed and carefully wiped the crystal ball with her sleeve.

“Do you remember anything, particularly about the future it was talking about?”

Rose sighed. “It just felt like a bad hallucination mixed with an extreme hangover... Never be possessed, kids.”

Jade helped her pass through the doorway leading into the house, and all of them went outside.

They were collecting the bags from the binding circle, when suddenly they heard a crashing noise in the house.

“Has anyone seen another person inside?” Jake asked, and everyone shook their heads.

“You think Vriska would leave someone behind?” Dirk said.

“Could have, she seemed pretty heartless,” Jade said coldly. Bec sighed deeply, agreeing with her.

They decided they had nothing better to do than to check what’s inside; Rose came to her senses completely and could walk on her own now, but Jade still followed her closely, ready to help at any sign of weakness.

At first sight the rooms with stolen goods looked the same, without any sign of disturbance.

“Let’s split up, we will cover the rooms quicker this way,” Dirk suggested.

“This set-up seems familiar somehow,” Jake mused. “Two ladies, two gentlemen, and their dog searching for monsters... And I remember them splitting up has never resulted in anything positive.”

Everybody ignored his predictions, and he ended up exploring a dark room with many beautiful paintings hanging on the walls by himself.

He heard a rustle behind one of the paintings and moved it around to look, feeling a dawning uneasiness, and suddenly a small black shadow flashed in front of him and clung to his face, sinking its claws into his head.

“Holy cheese and crackers!” He yelled and shot blindly, stumbling backwards, dropping his guns, and trying to rip it off.

“Jake, I’m on it!” Jade yelled and another shot rang in the air, missing spectacularly.

“Jade, careful, you are going to shoot his head off,” Dirk said, and the creature hissed and jumped off Jake.

He finally got a good look at it, and the best way to describe it was an ugly gnome made of rotten potatoes, covered in something that looked like oil. Jake pressed hands to his cheeks, and they came off covered in blood. He winced – both because of stinging pain, and because if this was going to be a trend for their adventures, he was going to finish without a face.

The gnome looked between the two newcomers, eyes lingering on Jade, hissed, and lashed out at Dirk; he threw it off with a strike of a sword, and it yelped, spilling black oil everywhere.

“Bec, get it!” Jade screamed again, and Bec appeared out of nowhere, sinking his teeth into it, leaving nothing but a puddle of black liquid.

“You’re okay?” Dirk asked, steadying an arm on Jake’s shoulder, and Jake nodded – besides staining another one of his good shirts and leaving some nasty cuts, the creature didn’t do much damage. But Dirk’s worry was flattering anyway, and if he had a less honourable mind, he would’ve faked greater pain.

“What the hell was it, another spirit?” Jade asked, looking at Rose with wide eyes.

“No, it must’ve been a by-product of releasing Rage. The disturbance must be getting worse if it was able to summon its minions, the magic awakens and gives life to creatures that once existed.”

“Are there any more of these creatures?”

“Might be. And they are called underlings, the old witch told me about them. They used to be Rage's personal minions of all shapes and sizes. Of course Rage wouldn't leave without causing some fuss discreetly. Unfortunately, the underlings are immune to binding circles, that's why the spirits loved them so much; we can expect some of them to pop up all over the world.”

“Is there anything about killing them in your books?” Dirk asked.

“One minute, just let me pull an encyclopedia out of my bra,” she replied flatly. “They seem not to be immune to teeth and blades, so here’s your solution. All I can remember about them is that they are attracted to powerful sources of magic and react to strong negative emotions – mainly fear.”

Jade suppressed a laugh, looking at her brother.

“Hey, I wasn’t scared!” He protested immediately. “Besides, it attacked Dirk too, what do you say to that?”

“I was just worried it would rip your head off, that’s all,” he shrugged shortly.

“Still, Bec and I didn’t attract its attention, that’s saying something,” Jade said proudly.

“It looked at you anyway, I saw it!”

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please don’t be childish. Fear is merely a method of self-preservation, not a demeaning personality trait. Anyway, we can benefit from their appearance – if they are going to be attracted to the sources of magic, this way we will be able to locate the rest of the vessels easier. We are just going to have to keep an ear out, listening to the papers and the radio for people reporting encounters with unusual creatures. Don’t worry, I will take care of this, Kanaya’s _legal_ connections will help,” she emphasized the word, as if trying to offset herself from the house she was in. “She will also pull out any information on Vriska, it should be easy to figure out where she got the mask now.”

Despite Bec showing no signs of being disturbed by something in the house, Rose insisted they all go and check the house for more underlings – they found none, but it was an interesting trip that made Rose scowl every time she saw something particularly old or expensive that she thought was stolen.

Perhaps, she took Vriska’s attempt to steal her crystal ball too personally, just like Jade – she was still fuming because of Bec being hurt.

Jake himself felt for Bec too, of course, but at the same time he had to admit that Vriska had style: villainous, but style nonetheless.

After they finished, Rose handed the bags of herbs and the mirror from the binding circle to Jade.

“Do you remember the book I gave you, about brewing potions?” Rose asked, and Jade nodded.

Jake racked his brains, trying to remember when it could happen; perhaps when he was deep in his fantasies. Suddenly he noticed Dirk and he were standing too close to each other (they've accidentally spent the entire trip around the house like this), and he stepped away quickly, so that no one would get wrong ideas.

He signed sourly, remembering his resolution of saving Dirk’s life. Of course it didn’t happen.

“The most sensible thing to do is not to concentrate the vessels in one place, we will split them – you take Mind, I will take Doom, as well as Light, obviously. To stop the underlings from being attracted to them, take the Repellent Brew and modify it, using the Binding ingredients,” Rose continued.

“What, why me?” Jade’s eyes widened. “What if I mess something up?”

“You are a botanist, aren’t you? Who is more perfect of a candidate to understand the technical side of brewing a potion?”

“But I’m a scientist, not a magician…”

“After many centuries magic has been romanticized by people who have never seen it, and nowadays they don’t know that magic relies on science just like chemistry or cosmology. You have the potential to become a great magician if you want to.”

“Thank you,” it was nice to see Jade’s hardened expression finally change into something softer. “Well, let’s drop you off in Avis, shall we?”

Rose shook her head. “Oh no, I’ll take a train. Travelling with you is like having a target painted on your forehead. Anyway, I wanted to report this place to the police, I’m sure they will find it very interesting. Also, you,” she pointed at Jake, “need medical attention. Toodaloo,” she gave them a tiny bow and marched out of the building, her dress shuffling haughtily. Another person fond of dramatic exits, Jake thought.

Jade’s earlier anger became subdued, making room for thoughtfulness; perhaps, she was thinking about her new promising future of a magician. Of course, it was only a matter of time before she would become furious about Vriska’s treatment of Bec again.

“What did she mean by a target painted at us?” Jake asked, wiping the blood off his cheeks.

“You do need medical attention, come in,” Dirk hastened them to the direction of the dirigible. “And I think she meant the huge SkaiaNet logo, it makes you very noticeable.”

“Are you suggesting we paint it over?! No way!” Jake was surprised by how angry his voice came out, but the thought just seemed that preposterous to him. “Jade, back me up!”

“I agree! I would hate having to cover it.”

Dirk shrugged shortly. “Well, it’s up to you to decide. Maybe you will change your mind once you see a missile launcher turning your direction.”

Jake just brushed it off – Dirk was exaggerating, a simple logo wouldn’t be able to bring them so much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Sure, Jake, keep telling yourself that.
> 
> I certainly love the idea of Serkets being these kind of comic relief villians... For now...  
> Alas, Vriska's introduction was short :( But I promise to write some extra info about her, Gamzee, and Tavros on my blog (because, like I said, background characters won't receive much development, but I want to talk about them anyway).  
> Also, I have to say, Light is my #2 fave, I like writing characters who are simply arrogant and impassive.
> 
> If you haven't guessed yet, stagnation is the main theme of this fic (as well as the problems of the future vs. the past. Literally my favourite thing to talk about).
> 
> I didn't have time to draw the vessels because of another project I'm involved in - but I'm going to add the picture as soon as I finish it.
> 
> By the way, if you want to post something about this AU on tumblr, tag it with #waoheas so that I can see it :)


	5. Idols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dirk and Jake go on a date (kind of), Jake meets his old idols and has the best day in his life.  
> (Of course, it means no action happens, just nice things and fluff).

Jake huffed in annoyance, balancing the Mind mirror on the kitchen table and trying to treat the injuries the imp caused. The cuts on his cheeks and neck were easy to wash, but the little monster managed to tear the skin under the hair, and it was troublesome to peel the pieces of dry blood off, especially on the back of his head, where the wounds were still fresh, and he couldn’t see.

He looked himself over critically and slapped a patch over a particularly nasty cut on his chin. Why everything was always happening to him, and not to the others? He was sure Dirk and Jade came out without a scratch – it was hard to tell, but at least they weren’t attacked by a magic beast.

“Admiring yourself?” Dirk asked, and Jake nearly dropped the mirror, jumping in surprise.

“Don’t sneak up on people like this, mate!”

“Wasn’t sneaking, you just weren’t paying attention,” Dirk sat next to him. “But who can blame you, nobody would be able to resist gazing into the enchanted mirror. I gather it has already told you who's the fairest of them all?”

Jake laughed, glancing at his reflection and running a hand through his hair, and winced when he accidentally touched the wet bloody spot. He grabbed a cloth soaked in vodka and tried to rub it in the wound – the droplets fell off his thick hair without touching the skin.

“Come on, let me help,” Dirk said, taking the cloth, cringing at its smell, and moving to stand beside him. Before Jake could mumble an unconvincing protest, he tilted Jake’s head forward and brushed his hair aside.

A million goose bumps rang down his skin, and Jake hoped Dirk wouldn’t notice the way thin hairs on his neck stood up. He sat perfectly still, drinking in the contact; the alcohol stung like hell, but it was nothing compared to the way Dirk's fingers caressed his scalp.

“You might want to change these too,” Dirk said, and brushed a patch on his neck, making him shiver. Was he always this sensitive?…

“Because right now you look like a two-year-old who has discovered glue for the first time and tried to make a collage. Where did you learn to make patches?” He continued, humour evident in his voice, and Jake breathed out a laugh as well.

“I've never learnt,” Jake finally managed to say. “Adventure heroes were never injured, so when I was a kid, I thought I won’t be as well.”

“In any case, you are going to rewrite this episode any way you want.”

“That’s exactly what I will do! No one will ever get hurt in my stories… Except for the bad guys, the ones who really deserve it,” he signed, his mind drifting to his failure again. “Although it seems that I am the only one not living up to my fictional counterpart.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dirk said and carefully put another patch somewhere beside his ear. “You couldn’t have predicted that an underling was going to attack you, if you want to blame someone, pick Rose, she has the magic future-seeing ball.”

“True,” Jake hummed. “I guess I just wanted to be cool like the great fictional heroes, they all got this sixth sense of knowing when they are going to be attacked.”

“Well, yeah, because they are guided by the author's godhand. And some people are cool in an unorthodox sort of way. Like you.”

Jake felt warmth spreading all over his face; he whipped his head backwards to look at Dirk from a weird upside-down angle. “You think so?”

Dirk looked at him with this secretive half-smile that always made Jake’s insides jolt in a pleasant manner.

“Sure, the only thing you are lacking is carefulness,” Dirk caught the back of his chair when it tilted backwards so much it became dangerously close to falling, and looked down at him. The ceiling lamp above them made his hair shine like a golden halo.

“Hey, I’m plentifully careful!” Jake protested, and Dirk smirked.

“In your vocabulary, is ‘careful’ a synonym for ‘using the Mind vessel as a mirror?’ “

“It _is_ a mirror, I’m simply putting it into its intended use! And I didn't read the spell in front of it or anything.”

“I figured. The fact that you still have flesh on your bones kinda gave it away,” Dirk’s fingers pinched his forearm, and lingered there, barely touching him.

Jake laughed quietly, and felt the tingling heat all over again, and just traced Dirk’s face with his gaze for several long moments, thinking that unfortunately, he was in no position to move closer and take his shades off.

Jade cleared her throat.

“Holy macaroni!” Jake exclaimed and sat upright immediately, the chair's legs hitting the floor firmly, and turned his head to look at Jade, whose eyebrows were raised so high they got lost in her fringe. “Why do people keep sneaking up on me today?”

“Not sneaking up,” she squinted. “Also, please keep alcohol away from kitchen, I don't care what medical purposes you are using it for, it smells like drunkards in here.”

Jake grumbled and complied, avoiding looking Dirk in the eye – and Jade too, for that matter, knowing he will see either a knowing smirk or a disgruntled scowl.

“Well, now that we are all fixed, and I made sure Bec is feeling okay, why don't we have the Halitus discussion?” She said; judging by her voice, she was still really upset.

“I thought it was obvious,” Jake said. “We know for a fact that the locket is there...”

“That's the problem, how do we know Light was telling the truth?” Jade asked, and Dirk nodded.

“So you are suggesting we ignore the information that was given to us?”

“If you remember, Light told the information me specifically, meaning _I_ make the final decision. Think about it, Jake, why else would it tell us where Breath is hidden, it must be a trap!”

“But what if Light counted on us thinking it's a trap, thus hiding the secret by telling the truth?”

Jade scoffed. “Fine, let's vote then – I vote for staying, you vote for going, Dirk?”

Dirk looked between them for a couple of seconds.

“Why don’t we compromise? We will reach Halitus in ten days–”

“How is this a compromise,” Jade rolled her eyes.

“–this can count as a waiting period, during which Rose can will tell us if the future she sees changes to the worst. We will just be nearby, so that when something happens, like a person activating the locket accidentally, we won’t be late.”

“I agree, that’s a good plan,” Jake turned away in order not to see Jade’s ‘Of course you agree’ squint.

“Fine,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Whatever. But! We won’t go searching for trouble unless the situation calls for it. I hope it won’t result in me telling you ‘I told you so.’ “

“Even if it results in Breath being released, we will be able to handle it, we succeeded before, after all. Nobody except us knows about the locket, so we have to stay alert,” Dirk said in attempt to calm her down.

Jade pursed her lips – she wanted to argue out of stubbornness, but couldn’t find the words to say that wouldn’t sound like she didn’t care about innocent people being hurt.

Jake smiled; he couldn’t help but feel deep appreciation towards Dirk even for a little thing like this. “Vriska was right, Dirk, you really are the leader.”

Corners of his lips lifted a bit. “How so?”

“You are all about making plans and motivational speeches, not being scared of anything…”

“Oh, I feel so motivated,” Jade muttered under her breath, but the secret to dealing with Jade’s rare anger feats was to simply ignore them.

“Not feeling fear and not showing fear are different things,” Dirk mused and then shrugged shortly. “Or maybe not, matters of heart are foreign to me.”

Jake hoped it was sarcasm.

“Anyway, the leader is the one showing the way, and also it’s usually the person who owns the vehicle the team is travelling on and is in charge of the funds.”

Jake waved his hands frantically. “What, you mean me? Oh no, someone could appoint me as a leader only if they wanted to get stuck in some hole with no way out.”

Dirk wanted to say something, looking at Jade, but she interrupted. “Where is this talk about leadership coming from, anyway? Don’t tell me you want to listen to Vriska’s talk about what a _real team_ should be like,” she spit the name out like a piece of disgusting food.

“We are not listening to Vriska,” Jake reassured her.

“Even though she has a point. There are certain situations when there’s no time to think, and someone should take the responsibility of making a decision for everyone,” Dirk added.

“Fine, I will take this responsibility! And my first order is that everyone is going to sleep, it’s almost midnight!”

“But Jade, it's ten o'clock–”

“No buts!” She said, staring Jake down, and a tiny part of his mind wondered if that’s what their mother could be like, and this thought strangled any protest he was about to have.

“She seems to act unusually aggressive,” Dirk said later, when they settled in their room (calling it ‘their bedroom’ did weird things to Jake’s head) – not to sleep, of course, Jake wasn’t five anymore, thank you very much.

He lit a lamp and pulled out his shabby notebook to do some writing; Dirk was drawing a blueprint of something strange and wonderful. On their left, they could hear Jade's door slamming shut.

“I hope you find it in your heart to forgive her,” Jake said. “She is angry about Vriska, that’s all. She claims that every person who is cruel to animals, and especially Bec, is her mortal enemy.”

“Not you though?”

“Obviously, what she did was horrible, but I like to think I have no enemies,” he gave Dirk a wide smile.

Dirk hummed sceptically.

“So what are you writing, is it about today’s events?”

“Yes! Gotta write them down while they are still fresh!”

“Can I read it?”

“Oh no, first drafts are nothing but balderdash,” Jake pressed the notebook closer to his chest protectively. His first drafts were like a diary, filled with too many personal notes. “Maybe later, when I rewrite it into a readable form. This chapter will turn out good, I think, especially because of Vriska, she makes a great character. Do you think we should ask her if it’s okay to use her real name next time we meet her?”

“I don’t think you should go through the hassle, since she most likely won’t appreciate the sentiment,” drawing a fine detail, Dirk bowed his head closer to the paper.

Jake took another notebook that was opened on a page with quick sketches of Vriska, Gamzee, and Tavros he did, and found a blank page.

The tip of the pencil tapped the surface softly. Jake really wanted to draw Dirk, but something always stopped him – maybe it was understanding that he won’t be able to do him justice, since he wasn’t a good artist, or maybe it was fear of bringing his secret thoughts out of their hiding spot into the public view.

He sighed and closed the notebook, instead settling on watching Dirk draw.

“What are you making?”

“A thing that’s impossible to make,” he answered without breaking away from his work. “I want to give a machine a mind of its own. Imagine, your dirigible doesn’t need you or Jade to control it, it can take off and land completely on its own, understand what’s the best route to take judging by the weather conditions, refill the supplies automatically...”

“How are you going to do it?”

“Like I said, it can’t be done, or at least that’s what I thought before the spirits came into sight. Magic is a whole new force to take into consideration. What we can’t accomplish with our physics can probably be done using magic as fuel.”

“So you want to... Make the dirigible be possessed with a spirit?”

“More like fill its systems with magic and control it through it.”

This sounded like both great and dangerous idea, but the greatness won.

“It would be amazing if you made it happen,” he smiled. “Is this your dream?”

“Depends on how you define dream. As in the goal I am working towards right now? No. As in something grand and unachievable? It’s a part of it.”

“So what’s the whole picture?”

Dirk shifted to sit more comfortably and leaned towards Jake. “To live in the world of machines. Imagine all the things that are hard or dangerous to do, we don’t have to do them anymore – machines will do everything instead. If you can’t cook or don’t know how to operate an air balloon, there will be a mechanism to do it for you. But it’s not the biggest part of what I want future to be like. More importantly, the machines have to possess their own mind and ability to make decisions, so that nobody has to supervise them.”

 “So those machines will be like humans?”

“Better than humans. Metal bodies would make them more durable, maybe even immortal, and their decisions will be based on pure math, which will make everything quick and sufficient, without emotional dilemmas getting in the way.”

“And what people are to do in this world?”

He shrugged. “Make art, music, more machines – everything people are always complaining about having no time to do.”

That sounded utopian, and if Jake had time to think, he’d realize Dirk's plan sounded like something an antagonist from an adventure novel would come up with, but thinking about book tropes wasn’t Jake’s priority when it was much more interesting to admire the way passion lit up Dirk’s face when he talked, more than he ever saw.

“And you are going to be the ruler of this new Empire?”

“Oh no, I will be satisfied with being a power broker, someone who pulls at the strings. So what is your ideal future?”

Jake thought for several moments, scratching the cuts absent-mindedly, realizing he didn’t have a clearly delineated future dream. “I’m not sure… World peace? Is it too banal? I can’t really think of anything else, I guess I want to travel and to be able to see a friendly face everywhere.”

“It’s a good dream,” Dirk said, leaning even closer and smiling a little. “Certainly more selfless than mine.”

“Well, I don’t see why we can’t have both peace and machinery in the future,” Jake said and dropped his gaze down at the journal, feeling the blush crippling on his cheeks again. “This could be the next chapter of Wondrous Adventures! Nobody will believe what I write about the spirits anyway, so I might as well throw a little trip into the future in there, nobody will notice.”

“Copyright, Dirk Strider,” Dirk said, pointing at the journal.

Jake smiled. “I can dedicate the entire chapter to you, if you want.”

He pressed a hand to his chest. “I would be most honoured to be recognized for my deeds by a celebrity.”

Jake chuckled, both at the ridiculousness of the statement and how solemn Dirk sounded, and with a wave of inspiration he outlined a quick draft for the possible story, where everything was perfect and Dirk built a machine that could bring people back to life.

***

The next morning started with Jade apologizing by dumping huge pancakes onto their breakfast plates and proceeding to talk about how great Rose’s book about herbs was, and how it was corresponding with modern science.

The next two days of their journey were spent with heavy scents of chamomile, ginger roots, and other indefinable spices and herbs, clinking of Jade’s glass tubes and rolls of paper from her communication with Rose sown on the floor. They had quite the collaboration – Jade constantly pestered her to consult about making a perfect brew, and Rose asked her for information about the plants that would help her track down the vessels.

Finally, she presented a small flask with fragrant liquid, wearing an exhausted but happy look. She explained that she would need to spray it on all the walls and entrances to ensure strong protection, and also she wanted to reinforce the chest where the mirror and the crown was kept. This meant Jake could use it as an excuse to say he didn’t want to disturb her job that, no doubt, took a lot of focus and precision, and hang out with Dirk instead.

Not that he didn’t like group activities anymore, they still had a lot of fun playing board games or discussing their adventures, all three of them, but sometimes he just wanted to be alone with him. And by sometimes he meant almost all the time he saw him.

Jake knew Jade didn’t mind, and therefore nothing stopped him from pursuing this closeness except for his own insecurity and lack of certainty about the future and what he wished for; sometimes Jake even thought about gathering enough courage and asking Dirk out on a date, after all, it was always the next step in every single romance novel. Unfortunately, there were no places to go on a date or stargazing in a dirigible.

But the dirigible with its small space had its perks too: at least Jake didn’t have to find an excuse to be near Dirk literally 24 hours a day.

***

_“…Miss Friska Secret bared her bellicose teeth, planning her malicious demarche against the quartet of swashbuckling heroes. Her hair fluttered in the light breeze, its ebony colour symbolized the darkness of her soul and the crimes she could never atone to, being the pirate queen._

_‘You will never get the crystal ball,’ she said and flicked Becquerel on the nose with her sword that matched the colour of her eyes, that had beautiful contrast with traditionally dark skin of a Fenestram citizen, the city she didn’t live in anymore because of a disagreement with her wicked sister, who was also engaged in jiggery-pokery, but it didn’t stop them from being at loggerheads, because sometimes even though your sister and yourself have a lot in common, like commitment to diablerie, you can still have topics you disagree about._

_This made Jade Harley fill with righteous fury and desire to avenge Becquerel, and she drop-kicked Miss Secret, and took the ball from her mid-pirouette._

_‘Dag nab it! Spiders, form attack!” She shrieked, and a million tiny insects crawled out of the cracks on the walls of her lair, transforming the roof into a swarm.”_

“And then those tiny spiders transform into one huge spider, and we fight it, but I haven’t written this part yet,” Jake looked up from his journal at Dirk. “So what do you think? I’ve rewritten this three times.”

He’s just finished reading the part about their trip to Avis, detective work, and going to Rima to meet Vriska, and now was waiting for feedback impatiently.

Dirk nodded the way professional critics probably nod. “Unorthodox, as usual. The part with Vriska’s – I’m sorry, Friska’s – introduction was hilarious.”

Jake frowned. “But it was meant to be dramatic, not hilarious... This is a very important part where the heroes, us, realize they’ve met the antagonist.”

“Well, if you are not aiming for satire, you should probably tone down the drama and the aureate language.”

“Oh, alright-o,” Jake wrote a note quickly and smiled. “Thank you. Maybe I should hire you as my editor.”

Dirk shook his head. “Don’t you have one in whatever publishing agency you send your works to?”

“No, I just mail them the manuscripts and they print them... Frankly, they are not captious, they don’t have that many authors to choose from. It's a small agency.”

“How did you end up with them anyway?”

“Well,” Jake began and scratched his head, realising the story would sound lame. “When Jade, Bec, and I went to the Crystal Falls for the first time, we were so impressed, I wanted to commemorate that day somehow, so I wrote a short story for fun, I didn’t have anything better to do. Then, when we travelled more, and I collected enough stories to fill an entire volume, Jade said I should publish them. So I picked a random company from the Yellow Pages and mailed them the manuscript, and they said they accept them. I agreed with their terms,” he shrugged.

Somehow he felt bad for having everything happen by accident, as if the lack of trying somehow made his achievement less valid.

Dirk didn’t answer – maybe he was thinking about publishing business, or maybe he was silently hating him for not working hard to achieve his goals.

“Perhaps you should get an editor then, not me, but a professional. They would help you improve,” Dirk said finally, and Jake sighed with relief – not hating then. “You’ve met so many people, there must be someone who could help.”

Jake racked his brains, trying to remember all the people they’ve encountered; they met a couple of writers, but never an editor – expect for one woman.

“In fact, I used to know someone a while back, Ruth Lalonde, our Rose’s aunt. She was a self-published author.”

“Good, consult with her then.”

“I can’t! Without talking for eight years, I can’t just bust into her house and be like, hello, you remember me, I used to be not-really-friends with your daughter, but we parted ways on not very good terms, anyway, would you help me out with editing? It would just be awkward.”

Dirk smiled a little. “Not going to argue with that. If I were to go back to someone I knew long ago and ask for help, they would all call for the Imperial Army to fight me, even the mailman... Especially the mailman.”

“Oh dear, why?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to hear this story.”

Jake huffed. “Fine, continue being cool and mysterious about your past.”

By the tone of Dirk’s voice is was obvious he was rolling his eyes. “I am not being mysterious, not on purpose. There’s just isn’t much to tell.”

“This can’t be true!”

“It can, in this case.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jake pursed his lips stubbornly, and Dirk sighed.

“Alright then, I’ll prove it. Prepare your clocks and gather round, kids, for a unique opportunity to see the phenomenon of the new age: a man tells his life story in one minute or less,” Dirk clasped his hands in an exaggerated manner, and Jake prepared to listen eagerly. “I was born in Torpos on December the 3rd–”

Jake gasped. “No way, my and Jade’s birthdays are on December the 1st, we should celebrate together when the winter comes– I’m sorry, keep going,” he snapped his mouth shut.

“The time I spent there with my brothers was uneventful, except for our family members dying – expect for our father, but he is an asshole, so I don't count him; after we got grandfather's blades, Dane started training us to become sword fighters. When he was fourteen, Dane gathered his guts and moved us to Canteth, where he got a repairman job, and I was stuck with babysitting Dave, because I didn't know how to do anything of substance. So I started learning mechanics, because I wanted to help Dane, and I thought Dave would want to follow his path too, but he became interested in music, and despite that Bro still loved him mo– nevermind. At age fifteen I knew enough to find my own job, but I stayed true to our name and kept helping Dane out in the clock repair shop he opened by this time. At age sixteen I got fed up with being a spanner thrown in their perfect sibling relationship, so I gathered my savings and left for Avis, where I met Mr. Zahhak and Miss Leijon who have helped me out with learning even more to become a real engineer, and I worked hard to reach Equius's level ever since... You know the rest. There, I didn't leave anything out. Nothing has ever happened to me because I didn't have time for anything to happen.”

Jake's brows furrowed; having a boring and stressful life was the worst, even though he had a hard time imagining what it was like. At least, he understood why Dirk was so eager to leave all the places he used to live in. And what's worse, his brothers seemed like horrible people, for never appreciating him.

“Well, I hope everything we are going through right now is a good enough compensation,” he said, and Dirk smiled slightly.

“You know,” Jake added. “Once your brothers find out you save the world on daily basis, they'll turn green with envy.”

“I think they will, Dirk hummed thoughtfully. “Too bad we have a non-disclosure agreement and can't get this story into the papers.”

“We'll just have to wait till we find all twelve objects, and till Rose creates a spell to destroy them forever, and boom, we'll be all over the news! So you'd better start picking out your best photo that will be on every newspapers front page.”

The desire to add _'I bet you look as attractive as always in literally any photos you take'_ was too tempting, so Jake shut his mouth promptly.

“Alas, they'd have to be satisfied with a verbal description, as I've said before, my pastime wasn't exactly revolving around modelling for the camera.”

“Wait,” Jake said slowly, “so you are saying you have no photos of yourself?”

“No, but–”

“This is criminal!” Jake threw his arms in the air. “I can't leave it like this!”

“Do you seriously want to equate my lack of photos with, say, stealing the crown? Or world hunger?”

But Jake wasn't listening, because he had a plan.

“JADE!!” He yelled, and she ran out of her room with wide eyes, Bec following closely.

“What happened, did you start a fire again?!”

“Again?” Dirk smirked, and Jake waved him off.

“It was five years ago and an accident, I’ll tell you some other time, if you promise not to laugh… Anyway, Jade, we should be near Careote, right?”

She checked the map and looked out of the window.

“We should be flying over it in about an hour. Why?”

“We'll go to the amusement park!”

Jade sighed – she was so used to his spontaneous decisions she stopped questioning them.

“Alright, team, we are altering the course,” she went to the cockpit.

“Amusement park, why do you suddenly want to go there?” Dirk frowned.

“There are always photographers in parks, we'll take photos!”

“Is that the only reason?” He asked.

“Well, yeah, you said you had none, so now you are going to have a million!” Jake looked at him, waiting for acknowledgement of his ingenious plan.

“You don't have to do it only because of me,” Dirk said.

“But I want to. It'll be great, Careote has a great park, Jade and I have been there a ton of times,” he reassured, then winked and pointed finger guns at him. “Something else to include in the list of memories.”

Dirk shook his head, but with great satisfaction Jake noticed a smile lurking at the corners of his mouth.

Jake has humming with excitement. It would be so great to spend a day there, even greater with Jade and Bec joining them (he had to prove Jade he still cared about her, as much as before).

He was going to give Dirk a day worth remembering and boasting about, something he could shove into the faces of people who didn't think he was good enough.

***

In a crowd of excited people they found the photographer immediately, shouting _'Twenty pence for a picture!'_ and snapping his camera with loud cracks. He was standing in the most picturesque place – a bronze fountain with a sculpture of the Supreme Empress – not the current one, but the one that was said to be ruling during the events of the legend. She was striking a victorious pose while holding a trident, and the sculptor made sure to do justice to her extremely long hair.

Actually, this was said to be the most accurate portrayal of the Empress, and they made sure to study all the details, including a locket hanging on her neck, several rings decorating her fingers, and multiple hair clips in wild curls.

August in Careote was very warm, so they shed most of their layers, leaving only thin shirts; and, of course, Jake had to leave his scarf on, after all, it was a part of his signature outfit.

The photographer waved at them to attract their attention.

“Does a beautiful lady, esteemed gentlemen, and a gorgeous canine,” Jade’s smile shone brighter than after hearing her own compliment, “wish to take a photo?”

“Damn right we do! Come on, Dirk!” Jake tugged Dirk’s sleeve and arranged the group in a way that had Jade standing on his right, Dirk on his left, and Bec sitting at Jade's feet.

“Now if all of you could scooch closer together, so that everyone would fit,” the photographer disappeared under the black cloth.

Jake placed his hands on Dirk’s and Jade’s backs, bringing them closer to fulfil the photographer’s request, and smiled at Dirk tentatively, having a weird sense of déjà vu about standing in the same pose at the patio, soaked in rain, and how much he wanted to kiss him back then.

God, he wanted to kiss him right now.

What Jake didn’t expect was Dirk mimicking him and placing a hand on his back.

“You ready? Say 'cheese!' ” The photographer snapped a picture with a puff of smoke flying out of the camera.

“How about another one?” Jade asked, and they ended up taking ten more, but it was all in the same place, which wasn't fair to the park. The park in Careote had the most gorgeous blossoming bushes, heavy trees, and hills overlooking the valley where they could watch the descending sun in the evening. That made Jake think about how great it would be if they could take pictures everywhere they went, which led to him having the second most ingenious plan today.

“How much for the camera?” He asked, and the photographer's mouth fell open.

“Two thousand pounds!” He blurted out with a sort of feverish glint in his eyes; Jake had no idea how much cameras cost, but he pulled out a pack of bills anyway.

“Two thousand fucking pounds, that’s insane!” Dirk hissed. “I can make you one for free!”

“But I don’t want to ask you… Not because I think you’ll make a bad camera!” He added quickly. “I’m sure it would be amazing, I just don’t want you to waste time and work all day again.”

Dirk’s lips twisted sourly. “I would make a better one.”

“Sorry,” Jake wanted to slap himself, because the last thing he wanted to do was offending him, but Dirk just brushed him off with a simple “Whatever.”

“Are you taking it or not?” The photographer asked, caressing the bills in Jake’s hand with a greedy stare.

“Of course we are,” Jake shoved the money into his hands, and the man all but leaped away before Jake could possibly change his mind, leaving them with a new camera and a suddenly realized task of having to carry it. But Jake was still incredibly satisfied – it was a small price to pay for his love for photos and composing albums.

Wishing to sweeten whatever offence Dirk might have taken, he gave him a wide smile. “Do you want some cotton candy?”

“You mean that thing that looks like coloured wadding? Sure.”

“It’s just melted sugar... Which sounds gross too, I know.”

“Not as gross as fried pickles,” Dirk pointed in the direction of a colourful tent that had a giant pickle with a frying pan for a mascot.

“Hey, don't judge before you taste, those pickles are god-sent food!”

Jade sighed. “Jake? A word in private, please?”

Jake glanced at her in confusion as she led him at the corner out of Dirk’s and Bec’s ear reach.

“Look, thirdwheeling on your date is not as fun as you think it is.”

“It’s not a date,” Jake mumbled, turning away, even though he knew she noticed the colour rising in his cheeks.

Jade didn’t comment on it. “So go have fun with your camera and gross food, and me and Bec are going to have a walk – I saw a shooting range over there – and then return to the dirigible.”

Jake sighed, feeling guilty again. It seemed that falling apart with Jade on some level was inevitable.

“Sorry to leave you out again,” Jake dared to look at his sister, and her carefree expression reassured him a little bit.

“Some peace and quiet will actually be welcome, and walking alone with your dog in the park is actually more fun than you imagine. Sometimes it feels good to stay away from group activities. So go ahead, have fun, don't join a cult by accident, be home by midnight, et cetera,” she smiled and patted his shoulder. Then her smile turned wicked and she added. “Besides, if you are still worried: I’ve already got my revenge – you might want to check the first picture we took, you’ll find it being photobombed.”

Jake laughed, and with this, she waved at Dirk and whistled at Bec to follow her.

Thus, Jake was left with a prospect of getting to spend the entire day alone with Dirk, and suddenly all the guilt he felt evaporated, leaving only exciting anticipation mixed with dim anxiety, and gratitude toward his sister, and a desire to repay her some day by doing something equally amazing.

***

Dirk has been to an amusement park once, when he was fourteen; it was a rather disappointing experience that ensured it was his first and last time. Not because the park in Canteth was bad per se, but because his and Dave’s anticipation for it was so great that any pay-off would be weak in comparison. By the time they saved enough money to allow themselves to go somewhere in their spare time without having a second thought about counting every penny of the expenses, their relationship has become strained, which resulted in a pretty awkward experience.

Which is why he wasn’t hot on Jake’s suggestion, apart from the obvious reason of thinking it was a pointless detour.

Although it wasn't surprising that he ended up enjoying it.

And, of course, it was obvious that the park had nothing to do with it, even though its environment was pleasant – it was Jake’s stories, Jake’s laugh, and just his presence and easygoing atmosphere that always followed him, that took the label of pointlessness off this day and instead made it one of the best days Dirk had in a while.

In this joyful atmosphere, when Jake was smiling at him and curling his fingers around Dirk's hand to lead him towards another place to take a photo on that damn camera, it was easy to forget that it was a temporary project, and they could say goodbyes any moment. It was easy to get used to good things, but the more attached he was getting, the harder it would be to let go.

And even though he genuinely liked Jade, and grew to enjoy Becquerel, it wouldn’t be the same if they were here as well. Because, and Dirk was sure of it, he was currently being engaged in a slow, tormenting, yet somehow sweet process of falling in love with Jake.

There was no other explanation for what he was feeling, he knew it with his ever-present confidence.

The way Jake's wide smile crinkled his emerald green eyes, his undying stream of creativity and dedication mixed with extreme kindness – everything about Jake was nice, even his name. Dirk never thought he'd think someone has a nice name, and he would never admit having such an undignifying thought, but nobody had to know.

Yet, despite Jake's goofy behaviour (which he loved), there was a steel rod inside him (which he also loved), a potential for greatness buried deep within layers and layers of mild upbringing that, apparently, was obvious to anyone but Jake himself. He couldn't help but wonder what would become of Jake if that upbringing was replaced with something tougher.

“We can go someplace else if you don’t like it?” Jake asked with apparent concern, and Dirk realized he spaced out for a bit. They’ve spent all day walking around this huge area, and now it was six in the evening and the sun started its descend towards the horizon. They were watching it from the valley, sitting on the ground, still warm from the sunlight.

 _I will go wherever you want to take me,_ Dirk wanted to say, but instead replied, “I’m fine, but a change of scenery would be welcomed.”

“I know just the place,” Jake nodded enthusiastically, and grabbed the camera, which stung Dirk again with how pointless of a purchase it was, but he strangled the thought as soon as it appeared – he's already fulfilled his purpose as a friend and warned Jake multiple times, there was no need to risk being annoying by continuing counting the money in somebody else's wallet. Especially since Jake and Jade were so loaded they could literally buy an entire city.

Jake pointed at a colourful booth. “A shooting range! Let’s hope it’s still working, and not closed forever with the owner crying in the corner because Jade devastated their business with her skills,” he smiled sheepishly and buried a hand in his hair. “They usually have stuffed toys as prizes, and people win them for, um, other people, I could win you something, that would be funny, and ironic, right?”

Dirk smiled – he felt like he smiled more in the past month than during his entire life.

“You are getting a hold of the basics of irony, I'm so proud of you, my friend. Let’s get the most adorable thing we can find, preferably a unicorn with a sparkling mane, or a pony.”

The booth wasn't closed, but the woman who sat there regarded them with a sour expression.

Jake gave her a coin, grinned at Dirk confidently, as if saying, _'Let's show her how it's done'_ , picked up a rifle – and damn, he was a great shot, even with the weapon he wasn't most comfortable with.

All ten bullets hit the targets clear into the centre within mere seconds, not once did Jake's hands shook, and Dirk suddenly realized that if it wasn't for his soft bleeding heart, Jake English would be a very dangerous man (he still cringed when remembering the way Jake bested him in the fist fight). There wasn't a situation that called for Jake to show ruthlessness yet, and perhaps, bringing out the hidden steel wasn't as good of an idea as it seemed at first.

“Do you want to try?” Jake handed him the rifle, and Dirk hoped his impenetrable expression didn't betray him, and he didn't look like a smitten idiot.

“No thanks, if it was a dagger throwing competition, maybe, but today moon's not in the right phase for me to use firearms.”

Dirk had no idea how to use a gun, and he certainly didn't want to be humiliated in front of Jake. However, this did give Dirk an idea to ask him for a shooting lesson later. This could be an excuse for them to get closer than everyday friendly interactions allowed; after all, Jake would need to guide him to show proper aiming poses.

Jake sent him a quick smile and asked the woman, “Okay, what prizes do we get?”

“Pick whatever you want, we’ve got the squeaky bunny, the floppy lion, the cuddly monkey...” She said, and sighed. “What a day...”

“What's wrong?” Jake asked, taking a white bull with sparkling dragon-fly wings.

“Well, first there was a girl who hit all the targets twenty times in a row and wasn't satisfied until she took all the plush puppies we had,” Dirk and Jake exchanged glances and smiles, “then a man gets such a clear score I had to agree to his demand to award him 160 points out of a hundred, and now there's you. Is there a sharpshooter convention somewhere that I don't know about?”

“No idea,” Jake said, and turned to Dirk again, showing him the bull. “Sorry, mate, no unicorns. Let's take this Tinkerbull instead!”

There, Jake went back to childish behaviour in a matter of seconds; perhaps, since June and Joss left them at such young age, he and Jade didn't have a chance to grow up properly in some ways.

Later, when Jake took him to the hill overlooking the park to watch the final bit of blood red sun disappear behind the horizon, where the lights decorating the trees were glowing in the darkness of the warm evening, he asked if Dirk would like to have dinner.

“There's a nice restaurant nearby; when I was a kid, they served pancakes shaped like panda heads,” Jake mused. “Let's hope they still do.”

Of course, Dirk agreed. He couldn't help but think about how much this resembled a date, even though Jake probably didn't notice it.

***

Jake was incredibly proud of himself to create such a clever, complex plan. Eating together, especially in a restaurant, was a very couple-y thing to do. Unfortunately, the restaurant wasn't exactly by the book, it didn't have heart-shaped candles, dark intimate atmosphere, or violinists playing love songs, it looked more like an open-air cafe – but they got a table for two in a cosy corner, which was good enough.

When a waitress finally brought their orders, she frowned when she saw Dirk's shades, just like a lot of people in the park did today. Jake wondered if Dirk noticed – he probably did, but he was simply used to it.

That brought him to thinking about the question that's been bothering him for quite some time, which was why he found himself asking, “Why do you wear these shades?”

Dirk arched an eyebrow. “You have already asked this question multiple times.”

“And none of those times did I hear an honest answer.”

Dirk entwined his fingers together, propping his chin on them, and Jake thought he was going to dodge the question with another silly joke, but he started talking.

“When we moved to Canteth, Bro changed his appearance drastically; perhaps, he was overcompensating for the lack of distinctive characteristics in our childhood. Dave and I followed him like we always did, because there was no other option, he was our only role model. And I guess even today I still look up to him in some ways.”

“But,” Jake frowned, “you said he wasn't a very good brother.”

“Well, despite everything, I still owe him a lot. He was the one who dragged us out of Torpos, provided, protected, all that jazz. He taught me everything I have to know about life.”

Jake bit an ear off a panda pancake. He didn't know how to formulate the idea that Dirk didn't have to look up to someone who he knew was a bad influence to him, because he was an interesting person on his own.

“Maybe you shouldn't, uh, wear them at all?” He said finally and gestured in the general direction of his face. “You have a very... I mean, you look okay on your own without any accessories, maybe.”

He stuffed the rest of the panda in his mouth to cover up the foot he’s already put in there.

Dirk smirked and took off the shades, and yes, he was just as attractive as Jake remembered.

“Better?” He asked, and Jake nodded silently, unable to look away.

Dirk breathed out a humourless laugh and put the shades back on.

“You see, this is more than just an accessory,” he leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. “You can't allow the surrounding people know your true intentions or emotions. As our recent quest has proven, every one of those people can become an enemy if only they have right information in their hands.”

“So it's like armour?” Jake frowned.

“Exactly. Never underestimate the importance of information, although you must know it, you are a writer after all. Knowledge is power, and if every person around you is striving to possess this power, every piece of undisclosed information becomes a weapon that can be used against your enemies.”

“Oh,” Jake said, chewing on his lip. “Is this something your brother taught you too?”

Dirk nodded. Jake struggled with words again; he wanted to say that not trusting anyone wasn't a way to live a happy life, but before he could say anything, his gaze landed on the table nearby, and he nearly choked on the pancakes.

He leaned towards Dirk and whispered frantically. “Oh my god, do you know who they are?!”

Dirk turned and looked at a man with black-rimmed glasses and a purple streak in his hair settling at a table with a woman wearing a puffy terracotta dress.

“A man and a woman ordering dinner?”

Jake felt like his brain was turned into a swarm of hummingbirds, each one of them screaming in delight.

“That’s Eridan Ampora and Aradia Megido!” He felt like all the holidays of the world were jammed up into one glorious moment, this couldn’t possibly be happening, he couldn’t be so lucky.

“Oh, those archaeologists you are so fond of?” Dirk asked, sounding pointedly unimpressed.

“Miss Megido is an archaeologist, Mr. Ampora is a historian,” Jake corrected impatiently, too excited to look away from them and too jittery to sit in one place. “Both are the youngest, most brilliant scientists in their respective fields. Should I come up to them? Golly gee, I’m not ready! I didn’t even take the list of questions I want to ask them, I’ve never thought I’d be privileged enough to meet them! Gosh, I'm so lucky… Do you think they’ll give me an autograph? How do I look?” He smoothed his hair, fixed his scarf, and glanced at Dirk in worry.

Dirk’s mouth twisted in a weird way, and he sipped his tea. “Like a doofus.”

Jake peered at the elegant way Aradia pushed her thick curls back, and decided that it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass.

“Come on, let’s take a photo with them and then ask them to sign it!” Jake pulled at Dirk’s arm, but he didn't budge.

“Why do you need me for this, I don’t even know them.”

“They are brilliant people, you are going to love them! Besides, I need moral support for this single most important event in my life,” he pushed Dirk off his chair and used all his strength to pull him towards Aradia's and Eridan's table, who have started discussing something written in their journals, no doubt something smart and ground-breaking.

Everything about them was ground-breaking, they probably exhaled pure oxygen instead of carbon dioxide.

“Um, hello!” Jake squeaked. Eridan and Aradia looked at him and Dirk with obvious irritation (which was understandable, of course they were busy with research that would change the world), eyes lingering on Dirk’s sword, and Eridan closed his journal that instant. They were so much more attractive than they were in the pictures, and Jake nearly forgot his next line. “I’m sorry to interrupt your certainly important research, but I just wanted to say how inspiring your work is to me, it was a great foundation for my own work... Miss Megido, 'The Studies in Authenticity' had revolutionized the ways of modern archaeology, and Mr. Ampora, I’ve read ‘The Fallen Empire’ seven times! And I admire you so much, I even started wearing a scarf just like you!”

“Great, another one of my fans,” Eridan rolled his eyes and fixed his blue striped scarf.

“ ‘Another’ is not a word I would use in your situation, Eridan,” Aradia smiled sweetly.

“You just haven’t been to my classes, Ara, all those students, pestering me and demanding I pay attention to them...”

“Yes, that's called being a professor.”

Jake barely resisted clapping upon hearing Eridan’s famous habit of shortening names with his own ears, and Aradia's snappy way of talking that he has seen only in interviews.

“I will be honoured if you take a picture with me!” He blurted out and shoved the camera into Dirk’s hands, sending him a quick smile and a pleading look; which earned him another eye-roll from Eridan.

“Fine, if it means you’ll leave us alone after this. We are trying to work here, you know.”

“What are you working on?” Jake asked, positioning himself between Aradia and Eridan, and smoothing his hair again to look better on the picture that would be hung above his bed in a heavy gilded frame.

“Complicated research that you wouldn’t understand,” Eridan replied.

“That’s none of your business, kid,” Aradia added, and a puff of smoke flew up to the ceiling when Dirk snapped a picture – such a pity he didn't want to join them.

“Could you also please sign something of mine?” Jake rummaged his pockets and pulled out a postcard they purchased in the park.

Eridan made a scene of glancing at the wristwatch and scoffing.

“Alright, what’s your name?”

“Jake, Jake English,” he beamed.

“That’s a very nice name,” Aradia signed the card and passed it to Eridan. “What about your friend?”

“That's none of _your_ business, _kids_ , I don’t need anything signed,” Dirk answered, and Jake frowned – they didn’t give any reason for him to be rude.

“Oh well, I guess it really doesn’t matter then,” Aradia’s smile grew even wider.

Eridan twisted the postcard in his hands with distaste and passed it back to Aradia. “I’d rather sign a copy of ‘The Fallen Empire’ than a cheap amusement park card. How about you sit down while I retrieve it?”

Jake could definitely explode from happiness, and without further thinking, he slumped on a spare chair, forcing Dirk to sit as well.

“So what does our biggest fan do for a living?” Aradia asked.

“I am an aspiring writer and adventurer!” Jake exclaimed, failing to keep his voice down. “I travel around the world and write about amazing things I see!”

“That’s delightful,” she exchanged glances with Eridan. “To be honest, I kind of envy travellers, your life must be so exciting... What would you say is the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen?”

The images of spirits of Doom, Light, Rage, and Mind flashed before his eyes.

“Well, there is this legend – of course you know it, you both researched it, I've read your work countless times, it was so inspiring – called the Legend of Twelve Spirits–”

Dirk kicked him hard under the table.

“–and, um, I saw some things that were said to be the vessels for the spirits, like the crown from the Crystal Falls museum,” Jake finished awkwardly.

“Oh yes, some say the crown has a real spirit trapped inside of it... Too bad it was stolen from the museum, isn’t it,” Eridan said.

Jake laughed nervously. “Yes, that’s unfortunate.”

Eridan looked at his wristwatch and groaned. “My order is taking forever, I have to speak to the chief! If it turns out they are overcooking my shrimp again I will write such a devastating review they'll never see another customer again. If you must know, people often look up to me in search for advice about elite places.”

He stood up and marched to the kitchen.

Aradia looked at Jake with wide eyes and whispered. “I'd better go with him to make sure he doesn't cause a ruckus. Be back soon, I would love to talk to you about your adventures.”

As soon as she left, Jake turned to Dirk; he felt so happy, he thought the aura of positivity should be tangible. “So what do you think?”

Dirk looked even less impressed than before. “I think they need to find a new hairdresser. I can't believe your idol is a guy with purple hair.”

“Oh come on, why do you reject them so much, they are amazing! And they are interested in our adventures, I never imagined that!”

“They were rude.”

Jake folded arms on his chest. “When?”

“She called you a kid, for example.”

Jake brushed him off. “Of course she did, she is four years older than me.”

“Their behaviour is suspicious, and Megido's smile is creepy.”

“It's charming! Just because you think every single person is an enemy doesn't mean they are; Miss Megido and Mr. Ampora are nice, intelligent people, trust me.”

Dirk didn't look convinced. “In any case, you shouldn't disclose information about the spirits.”

“Why not, maybe we could recruit them into our team?”

A glorious vision came to him, of turning Dace Hagler into Daceer Hagleramdo – alright, that didn't sound good, but with Eridan and Aradia their team would be truly invincible.

“No,” Dirk said firmly, “we know nothing about these people, they could have malicious intents.”

“I've read their biographies, I _know_ them!”

Dirk sighed and looked at the ceiling.

“You've got to have more faith in people,” Jake said softly. “Life will be better this way.”

“Don't you remember why we ended up confronting Vriska? Because we talked too much in front of Aranea,” Dirk sounded very serious. “I'm just saying a person should always be wary of people surrounding them.”

“What, even me?” Jake frowned. “You keep saying it, but if everyone around you theoretically is capable of hurting you, does it include me too?”

Dirk was silent for a moment. “Well, if you want to get technical...”

“I would never do it,” Jake said firmly, and leaned even closer. “And I know you wouldn't hurt me too, because I trust you.”

“I know, I know, I trust you too,” Dirk leaned in as well, keeping his voice down. Their noses almost touched now. “But still, we can't tell them about the spirits.”

Jake nodded reluctantly, feeling disappointed, but he didn't want to argue with Dirk.

Neither did he want to move away from him.

“Who wants shrimp, Eridan will share!” Aradia said, voice loud and cheerful, and they jerked away from each other, seeing her and Eridan with a huge plate of steaming seafood.

And Jake was quickly submerged into bliss of having both of his idols by his side again, with Eridan telling a thirty-minute-long story about how hard it was to be the youngest university professor, and Aradia sharing some anecdotes about her archaeological escapades.

He felt like his foot was bruised from the amount of times it got kicked by Dirk when he was forgetting his promise, so Jake had to swirl the conversation into another route every time he touched the subject of legends (which happened a lot for some reason), hoping he didn't sound too awkward.

“I also got a perfect score on the shooting range today,” Eridan said, and Jake gasped.

“So _you_ were the third person with the best score!”

“The third?” He scowled. “Who were the other two?”

“My sister and me,” Jake said, hoping he didn’t sound boastful.

“That’s interesting, I didn’t picture you as a firearms guy.”

Jake grinned. “Firearms are what we are all about, my sister has a great rifle, but I prefer pistols. What kind of weapon do you use?”

“A very special rifle, constructed for me specifically,” Eridan said pridefully, and Dirk frowned at him.

“We are heading to Sandford next,” Aradia said. “Duty calls. What about you, maybe we could give you a lift?”

“We are going to Halitus Island,” Jake managed to dodge another kick Dirk aimed at him. “Besides, we have our own transport. But thank you anyway.”

“Halitus, huh... It will be tough to get on the island, won't it, Ara?”

“Sure will,” Aradia nodded enthusiastically. “They closed the borders since they are still sorting things out after the becoming a sovereign state.”

Jake's smile faltered. “So... There's no way to get in?”

Eridan's eyebrows shot up.

“There's always a way, especially for people of science who would do anything to get their research done.”

“There is an abandoned piece of land where the border isn't controlled, the segregation process was pretty messy, and they simply didn't have time to put the guards there,” Aradia showed the part of the island on the map, the one near the channel separating the island from the mainland.

“Thank you, but we are not sure if we will go on the island itself,” Jake said, inspecting the map and memorizing the patterns and formations of land just in case.

“Well, in any case, you'd better hurry if you want to get in, it's only a matter of time before they find out about the opening,” Eridan added and looked at his fancy golden watch again. “Speaking of time! I'd hate to be late to our meeting.”

“Yes, unfortunately, we must go,” Aradia smiled apologetically, standing up and flinging the bag over her shoulder. “It was very nice meeting you, Jake, and if you ever need any help with your research, we’ll be happy to assist, Sandford is a foolproof way to find us.”

***

When they got back to the dirigible, Jake was ambushed by Jade before he could say hello.

“Well, seeing how your smile is so wide I’m afraid your face is going to fall apart, I’m gonna guess everything went well?” She asked with a conspiring voice after pulling him into her room.

“You have no idea,” Jake sighed, his mind already replaying the finest moments of the day. “This was the best day ever.”

“Oh really?” Her eyes lit up. “Did you kiss him?”

“What? No!!” Jake exclaimed, wishing the blush away. “But you won’t believe whom we met at the restaurant – Eridan Ampora and Aradia Megido! And look, Mr. Ampora gave me a signed copy of ‘The Fallen Empire!’ “

Instead of thrusting the book at Jade like he would’ve done with anything else, he handed it carefully, afraid to bend the precious pages.

“Wow, you're one lucky guy, good for you,” Jade said, flipping through the book, and then smiled devilishly. “So what was it like to have dinner with all three of your crushes?”

Jake rolled his eyes.

“I am not sixteen anymore, Jade, I am not crushing on Mr. Ampora and Miss Megido, I simply admire their work _a lot_ ,” he said firmly.

Jade poked a finger at his chest and laughed. “Ha! You didn’t deny having a crush on– Oh, hi, Dirk!”

Jake turned to look at him so quickly he almost got a whiplash, and his blush deepened.

“Hello, Jade,” Dirk leaned against the doorframe. “How was your day?”

“Productive,” she pointed at the rows of plush puppies sitting on the floor around Bec, who was playing with Tinkerbull and pulling at its wings. “How about yours?”

“It was okay, but unfortunately very plush-puppy-lacking. But Jake has probably already told you all about it.”

“Oh yes, he is like a one-person fanclub, imagine growing up with him,” Jade laughed, grabbing the camera with one hand and sliding another over Dirk's forearm. “Come on, let’s form our own, we’ll call it the 'People Who Like Developing Photographs’ club.”

Jake looked at them – and no, the way Jade linked arms with Dirk wouldn’t get him down.

“Wait, I want to join too!” He purposefully strolled up to Dirk’s other side and linked arms with him as well, disguising it as simply parodying Jade.

“Alright, your first task as a club member is finding out where to buy chemicals,” Dirk said, and they locked eyes again – and Jake's deep affection, numbed from talking to Aradia and Eridan earlier, returned in full force.

Today was definitely going to be the best day from the beginning till the very end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Foreshadowing intensifies*
> 
> Here's a tip for you, Jake: if you want to go on a date with a guy you like, it's best not to interrupt it in the middle to gush over other people.
> 
> By the way, the girl at the shooting range is a cameo of my bff.
> 
> Also, I just wanted to say that I appreciate everyone who comments on this story or sends me asks on tumblr about it - good to know I'm not writing this for nothing, thank you, guys <3


	6. Matters Of Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dirk and Jade work together, Jake meets a new friend and has the worst day in his life.

“All of us look so cute! I love this one, I am going to put it in a frame,” Jade crooked her neck to take a better look at one of the photographs that were drying up, hooked on clothes-pegs all over the dirigible.

The photo in question was of all four of them in the park in front of the fountain; it had an unexplainable sunny feel of happiness and unity, and Jake agreed with Jade’s notion of hanging it on the wall in the living room.

The photos with just Dirk and him were even better, for obvious reasons. Jake hoped he wasn’t mistaken when he thought that Dirk looked happy and content in them.

He also wanted to put one of those photos on the bedside table, but there were no bedside tables on the dirigible, since they've never carried unnecessary furniture in order not to add extra weight. Besides, it would be a weird thing to do, so he set on being content with sneaking one away to put between the journal’s pages, fully aware that he behaved like a kid dealing with his first crush.

Jake spotted a photo of him, Aradia, and Eridan and smiled – he still couldn’t believe he met them and _talked_ to them. For the past few days he was running on euphoria from the best day of his life, from the coincidental meeting that was a mother of all coincidences, and his and Dirk’s date. He placed it inside the signed copy of ‘The Fallen Empire’ carefully.

While nobody was looking, Jake also hid a picture of him, Dirk, Jade, and Bec in the pocket of his waistcoat. He wanted to carry the representation of Dace Hagler with him at all times, like a picture in a heart-shaped locket, but he didn't own any lockets, and using the vessel for the spirit of Breath they were about to find would be a bad idea.

“I like this one,” Dirk said, taking a photo they took in the dirigible after visiting the park: the three of them sitting near the control panel, with sunrise colouring the sky in beautiful hues of pale yellow and pink. Jade asked Bec to push the button to take the photo, that’s why he wasn’t in it; but Dirk promised to think about how to make the camera take pictures with a delay.

“Me too!” Jake exclaimed, peeking over his shoulder. This was far from his favourite, but if Dirk liked it, it meant they had to hang in on the wall along with the photos that were already there – like their parents' wedding photograph, or the one with June, Joss, and younger Becquerel, from the time he used to be called Halley.

“Alright, give everything you want framed to me,” Jade said, collecting all the photos in a metal box. “I think I saw some spare frames in the pantry. Also, we must be getting prepared for landing soon; I leave this job for you guys.”

Dirk nodded and sat in the pilot’s sit, Jake followed him to take the second one, running his hand over the cool metal panel. They were flying close to the shore; the ocean, as well as the faint outline of the Halitus Island, have become visible.

They landed the dirigible near the beach – unlike the beach in Fenestram, this one was blown on by cold winds of the ocean, which made them want to wrap themselves in the thickest coats; even Bec regarded the ocean without his usual enthusiasm, not wanting to come near the water.

“Now what?” Jake asked, hiding from the blasting wind behind the protective shield of the dirigible.

“Now we wait,” Jade answered and held out a basket. “Who wants to have a picnic in the open air?”

***

On the second day waiting has become pretty boring.

Jade was in the kitchen, submerged in her morning routine of rereading the Spirit Guide for the hundredth time and trying to brew ‘science potions’; Bec helped her by fetching ingredients; Dirk was tinkering with the camera, wrapped in a scarf, and Jake had to do a double take on him.

“Why are you dressed like this?”

It was Jake's spare scarf, a blue one his grandmother knitted, and seeing Dirk dressed like this made an unexplainable warm feeling blossom in Jake’s chest.

Dirk wiggled his fully gloved fingers. “It’s getting cold in here.”

“Oh, you should ask Jake to warm you up,” Jade cooed and laughed hysterically when Jake threw a pen at her. “I meant you can make him hot chocolate!”

Jake busied himself with putting a kettle on to hide his furious blush – besides, it really _was_ getting cold, not even the solid walls of the dirigible or a gas heater shielded them from the blasting wind.

“Maybe we should do to Halitus already, we can’t stay here forever,” he said. “Besides, Aradia said the boarders will be closed soon, shouldn’t we hurry?”

“You are disregarding everything I say again,” Jade shook her head.

“We are not disregarding, Jade, Jake has a point,” Dirk said. “We are wasting time by sitting here, wouldn’t it make more sense to be in the centre of the action to make sure we monitor every possible outcome?”

Jade sighed, expression utterly resigned. “Fine, whatever, you’ve talked me into it, let’s go tomorrow before sunrise. But! If we are going to start an apocalypse accidentally, be prepared for a lot of _I told you so_.”

In the evening, after they found a boat, they pumped themselves with cups of piping hot tea and settled to get at least a couple of hours of sleep under all the spare blankets they could find.

“Dirk, you awake?” Jake asked quietly in the dark.

“Depends. If it’s about three-headed slugs again, I’m snoozing away in the Land of Pajamas and Dreams and can't hear you.”

Jake breathed out a laugh.

“An in-depth discussion about the slugs can wait. What do you think the spirit of Breath’s powers are?”

“I don’t know, maybe suffocating people?” Dirk replied.

Jake hummed, “No, that’s something Life would do… You know, taking lives...”

“Controlling the air then?”

Jake nearly jumped with the sudden realization. “Of course! The spirit cursed the weather, this is magic, I can feel it, this is phantasmo-wind!”

“Or maybe it’s the oceanic climate, but sure, whatever you say.”

Jake lied in silence for a while, listening to the wind howling like a beast, rocking the dirigible slightly, and was still convinced it was somewhat magical.

He fiddled with his blankets and asked with hesitation, “Hey, um, Dirk…”

He wanted to say that if he was too cold, they could always share a bed, especially seeing how their sleeping poses matched perfectly with Dirk always lying on his back, and Jake preferring to sleep on his stomach, but he dropped the idea as soon as it appeared, for it was a completely inappropriate thing to say.

“…do you think spiders can dream?”

Dirk sighed deeply. “Go to sleep, Jake.”

***

They arrived on Halitus under the cover of darkness, like true criminals; rowing was incredibly difficult, but they managed to get to the bay Aradia pointed out. Like she said, there were no guards or fences to restrict access to the newly formed country.

Ensuring nobody was around, they sneaked through the trees and entered the outskirts of a small town.

Silhouettes of tall buildings were seen in the distance, including a construction with multiple turrets, that, according to the map, was the Halitus Palace. The most logical thing to do was to check the museums and antique shops first, but, of course, nothing was open at this hour, so they simply set on walking towards the centre of the island.

The streets were tranquil, illuminated by the dim light of the thin crescent moon; there were no people or animals in sight, everyone must've been deeply asleep, but at least they felt safer this way – until suddenly a swishing sound pierced the air like an arrow, and Jade yelped in surprise, clutching her neck.

“Jade!” Jake grabbed her arms immediately, and his heart sank when he saw something like a syringe sticking out. He pulled the needle out; Bec growled and stood in front of them, sniffing the air, and Dirk pulled out his sword, looking around for the attacker.

“Are you okay?” Jake’s voice shook, and Jade nodded weakly.

“Yes, I think… I…” Her eyelids dropped and she went limp in his arms.

“Jade?” Jake’s hands shook as he checked her pulse, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt steady beat. Bec whined and touched her face with his nose.

“Must be some kind of sopori– shit!!”

Dirk was hit by another shot, the sword fell out of his hands, and Jake extended his arm just in time to catch his unconscious body, carefully lowering him on the ground.

Jake inhaled sharply, feeling overly exposed, and whipped his head around frantically in hopes of seeing just a glimpse of anything. His insides were quivering in fear of what was coming next.

The next shot hit Bec; he howled and pointed his nose at the direction of one of the roofs, so Jake loaded his pistol and shot at random.

With satisfaction, he heard the bullet reaching its target, someone cried out, and the next thing he knew strong arms were wrapping around him from behind, twisting the gun out of his hand and almost breaking his wrist; Bec plunged his teeth into the attacker, and their grip weakened.

“Get the dog!” Someone shouted, and Jake punched the person behind him, just as ten more syringes were thrust into Bec, which finally brought him down.

Jake reached for his pistol, intending to protect his friends with his own life, but another person grabbed his head and squashed a rug into his nose. Jake turned around, aiming a blow at them, but as soon as he inhaled the pungent smell, he felt consciousness slip away from him – the last thing he felt before everything went dark was a jolt of pain as solid pavement came in contact with his head.

***

“Jake! Hello, Jake, wake up!”

Something, probably a human hand, shook Jake’s shoulder, and he tried to open his eyes.

The world around him was a mess of swimming blurry shapes, and shaking his head only made it worse.

“Come on, get up,” a person helped him sit, and finally Eridan Ampora’s face came into focus.

Memories rushed to him, and he searched around frantically for the bodies of his friends – but there was nothing, not a single trace.

Fingers dug into his hair painfully, he was scared and disoriented, with his mind still befogged and no ideas what to do next.

“Hey, can you hear me?” Eridan shook him again, and Jake shifted his bleary gaze onto him.

“Have you seen anyone else here?! A man who was at the restaurant with me, a girl with long black hair, or a huge white dog? Anyone?”

“No, you were the only one lying on the ground,” Eridan pulled him up.

The sky was light blue know, even though the sun wasn’t in sight: just how long was he unconscious?

“My friends were taken away!” He exclaimed, and Eridan had to take a step back to avoid Jake's flailing arms. "I don’t know where or by whom, they were shot by these strange syringe-like things,” Jake drew in a shaky breath; he didn’t care about the panicky tone he spoke with, and how lost he looked, searching for a clue. “I need to find them, can you help me with something, with _anything,_ please?!”

“Alright, stop the hysteria, take a deep breath or whatever,” Eridan said firmly. “Of course I’ll help you.”

Jake spun around, looking for a discreet sign they could've left – but of course they didn't, they were unconscious – and horrible images of what someone could do to Dirk, Jade, and Bec while they couldn't defend themselves rose in his mind.

“We need to find them, and the person who attacked them!” Jake exclaimed in-between ragged breaths, on the verge of full-on panic mode.

“Easy, easy,” Eridan said. “I said I’ll help. If your friends were attacked, first thing we need to consider is who could profit from it. Maybe you have something valuable they might want in exchange?”

“You think they want a ransom?!” Jake asked in horror, at the same time realizing he was prepared to give everything he had for a chance to get Dirk, Jade, and Bec back safe.

Eridan hummed, contemplating something. “Well, if they wanted money they would’ve contacted you right away... Maybe it’s not money they want, but something else? Information, for example?”

“Information...”

Their search for the locket could be considered valuable to someone who somehow learned that they knew where Breath was hidden.

Yes, he promised Dirk not to tell anyone about the spirits, but this was Eridan Ampora, a man whom he could trust, who miraculously came to his rescue, was kind, willing to help, and asked of nothing in return.

But on the other hand, there was Dirk.

And he promised Dirk not to tell anyone about the spirits.

“Well, there is an object we are searching for, a locket, it’s very important. Sorry, I can’t tell you the details. But that’s why we came here.”

Eridan nodded, apparently satisfied with not knowing the details. “I can help you find this locket.”

“The locket is not important, I need to find my friends!” Jake frowned.

Eridan pursed his thin lips. “You don’t have a clue where to start searching for them. In my opinion, it would be more reasonable to find this locket first, so that you have something to present to the abductors in exchange for their lives.”

Jake shuddered at his last words; terrifying pictures of Dirk and Jade being tortured to get the whereabouts of the locket flashed before his eyes, and in this madness Eridan’s words were a beacon of judiciousness.

“So what does the locket look like?”

“I don’t know,” Jake rubbed his forehead, trying not to think about Dirk, Jade, and Bec, who could be dying this very moment. “It is two thousand years old, probably decorated with sapphires or other blue gemstones, since blue is the colour associated with Breath – I mean, um, with lockets... It belonged to the Supreme Empress, that’s one clue... We should go to the police!” He exclaimed in sudden epiphany.

Eridan stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Police stations aren’t open at this hour, trust me.”

“How about a radio station then? We could get a message all across the island!”

“Look, kid...” Eridan began, sounding irritated, but didn’t have time to finish, because they spotted something lurking in the shadows – something with shining white eyes and bared teeth, a creature Jake recognised as an underling, like they saw the day they met Vriska.

“What the fuck?!” Eridan’s hand darted to the handle of his gun, but Jake reacted faster, and soon the underling was lying on the ground with two bullet holes where his shining eyes were, slowly dissolving into oily liquid.

Eridan squatted next to it and poked it with a barrel of his small blue gun, lips twisted in disgust. “What in the raging hell was this?”

It seemed there was no way he could avoid talking about magic now. And thus, he told Eridan about what underlings were, how they appeared here because the locket was a source of magic, and why exactly the locket was so important.

To his surprise, Eridan took the story pretty well, nodding seriously and occasionally asking questions. If Jake was completely honest with himself, he was glad he had an excuse to let Eridan into their business; this could mean he could be considered a part of their team.

The story was long, including their run-in with Vriska, and by the time Jake finished they managed to reach the centre of the town – walking and talking felt good, it created an illusion of doing something and calmed down the tiny worried voice in the corner of Jake’s mind that always reminded him that the minute not spent looking for his friends was a minute wasted.

***

When Dirk’s senses came back to him, he didn’t move, wanting to gather as much information about his surroundings as possible without opening his eyes and alerting the possible guard about his state.

Cold hard floor, silence except for someone’s breath on his left, no katana, slight pain where the needle pierced his neck, shades are in place, clothes are dishevelled (the attacker must have searched for more weapons; the thought was disgusting and almost made him shiver), missing coat, and aching muscles on the side he was lying on (he must have been out for a long time).

He dared to crack one eye open, and in the darkness he could barely make out Jade who was leaning against the bars that separated them, looking straight at him.

“Welcome back,” she said with apparent relief.

Dirk tried to sit up, ignoring the awful wooziness that made everything swim, and shook his head to get rid of the illusion of multiple Jades staring at him.

“You’d better not move,” Jade said, inserting her face between the bars. “I woke up half an hour ago, and I still can’t stand straight.”

Jade’s skin was covered in scratches and dirt, and Dirk knew he wasn’t in a better state – their kidnappers didn’t seem to care about them when dragging them in this prison.

Dirk rubbed the bruise from the needle. “Soporifics?”

“Tranquillizers. I’ve read about them, one drop gets into your blood and boom! You’ve lost control of your body.”

Dirk took a good look at the place they were held in: it seemed to be underground, judging by roots breaking through the ceiling, the floor and the ceiling were simple soil, but the walls were reinforced with stone, and had the metal bars welded firmly into them. Jade was illuminated by faint light coming from a single torch on the wall further in the tunnel, in the end of which they were placed. Becquerel – stripped of the coding equipment – was sitting in a separate cell next to Jade.

“Where’s Jake?” He asked, feeling both relieved, because this could mean he managed to get away, and frightened, because this could mean he got killed.

Jade’s face fell.

“I don’t know, not here. I haven’t heard a single soul here, not even the captors… Who do you think did it?” She sounded worried. “Nobody even knew we were about to go here, expect for Rose and…”

“Ampora and Megido,” Dirk finished for her, scowling with the deepest disdain he’s even felt for himself. He should have never allowed Jake to trust them, he shouldn’t have let the desire to appease Jake’s fondness for his idols lead him by the nose.

“Shit!” Jade exclaimed in sudden realization. “You think _they_ have set this up?”

“Could have. Unless Vriska has tracked us down, or Rose has decided to sabotage–“

“No,” Jade said firmly. “You are not accusing Rose, she is one of us. And I understand Vriska, but why would Eridan and Aradia do it?”

“Money, scientific interest, because they are little shits, take your pick,” Dirk shrugged, sounding a lot calmer than he was, and began inspecting the bars, while his mind calculated all the possible situations Jake could be in. “Either way, we need to get out of here and find him.”

***

Eridan’s gun was of bright blue colour and of a shape Jake has never seen before: its barrel slid forward forming a harpoon-like ending. Jake’s first thought was that Dirk would really enjoy seeing this sort of technology; his second thought was awe at Eridan’s skills, when he made a clear shot at the leader of a group of underlings they came across. They were pouring from out of a long, wide crack in the ground – it seemed to be artificially created, judging by the factory buildings nearby, and piles of rocks surrounding them.

It was the first time they came across a whole group of underlings, which made it obvious they were getting close to something big and magical. Rational thinking prompted that it must be the locket, but Jake also hoped that they could lead him to Dirk, Jade, and Bec.

They levelled most of the group, except for one underling, who got scared away and jumped into a crack before they could get a good aim at it.

The crack was only several meters wide, and a simple suspension bridge was connecting the two, and Jake immediately ran to the middle of it and bent over the rope railing. Eridan stayed at the edge of the crack, looking down and holding his gun in a ready-to-go position.

Jake squinted; it was impossible to see anything down there, the imp seemed to have disappeared; until suddenly two huge eyes flared in the darkness, and Jake tumbled backwards, swaying on the bridge, barely managing to grab the ropes.

The darkness moved and unfurled its rings, and a giant snake rose from the crack, levelling its eyes with Jake. Its head was ugly and flat, and looked like it was run over by a huge rolling pin; it would be funny if it wasn’t for two rows of very sharp teeth bared menacingly.

“Amazing,” Eridan said, lowering his gun. “I’ve always knew basilisks were real.”

The basilisk didn’t pay him any attention, instead bringing his head closer to Jake, and inhaled slowly. Jake swallowed nervously; he was probably reeking of magic. He backed away to the opposite side of the crack, the bridge suddenly feeling feeble and unstable, and loaded the pistols.

But before he could reach the ground, Eridan fired his gun; the basilisk roared and lashed out at him, and both Jake and Eridan emptied their magazines into it.

It didn’t kill the creature, but it wailed and jerked away from them, turning around to hide in the darkness again; its thick tail hit the bridge, and Jake’s heart jumped to his throat as the ground disappeared under his feet.

He managed to grab onto the torn bridge in the last moment, but while he was focusing to clinging to the ropes, one of the pistols slipped out of his hand and followed the basilisk into the darkness of the crack.

With heart thumping in his ears, Jake climbed onto the safe surface of the ground and turned to look over the space now separating him and Eridan.

“It’s all fine,” Eridan reassured, although he sounded disappointed, looking over the crack and not seeing the way he could walk around it. “I’m sure I can find another bridge somewhere.”

But Jake was looking at the escaped imp, who was climbing out of the crack in the distance, seemingly believing it was safe now, and taking off somewhere – it must’ve sensed a bigger source of magic.

“I’m sorry,” Jake said quickly, not wanting to waste any time in fear of losing the sight of the imp. “Thank you for everything, but maybe it’ll lead me to Dirk, Jade, and Bec.”

“Wait! This won’t help you find them, stop!” Eridan cursed and loaded his gun again – however, by the time he aimed at the imp it got under the cover of a factory building. Jake was glad it survived, even though it was awfully sweet of Eridan to worry about his safety like this.

Jake followed the imp for quite some time; it chose routes without any people and masterfully blended with the shadows casted by sun going higher with every minute, just as the buildings around them got richer and richer as they were getting closer to the centre of the island.

The imp was sprinting forward so fast Jake frequently lost sight of it, and nearly missed the alleyway it has turned to, stopped only by a yelp indicating that it ran into someone.

Jake darted back towards the crossroads only to see the imp jumping and sinking its claws into a boy who tried to shake it off frantically.

“Don’t move!” Jake shouted at the boy and plunged a bullet into the imp’s head once the opportunity was present.

The boy threw the imp’s body off himself, and Jake helped him scramble on his feet, wincing at the sight of deep cuts visible under the torn fabric of his clothes.

The boy fixed his rectangular glasses with shaking hands.

“What was this thing?!” He breathed out.

“An imp,” Jake answered shortly. He was disappointed about having to kill it; a way to find his friends was lost now.

“Oh,” the boy pocked the puddle of oil the imp was turned to with a toe cap of his shoe.

He had a striking resemblance to someone that Jake couldn’t figure out. Only when he touched a wound the imp left in his shoulder and bit his lip, revealing buck teeth, Jake realised that the boy looked exactly like he used to look when he was fifteen, except for dark blue eyes and lighter skin.

That was... strange.

“What’s an imp? Is it like a goblin, from the legends? Is it a servant of dark forces?”

“Yes, kind of,” Jake said, looking over the tall, heavily decorated buildings surrounding them, mind focused in where to go next.

The boy’s face lit up. “Awesome! Does it mean wizards exist too? Are you a wizard? Or a wizard hunter? Or maybe I am secretly a wizard, and you want to take me to the school of witchcraft?”

“Neither, I’m just Jake... Have you by any chance met a girl who looks like me, a white dog, or a tall freckled blonde man with a sword anywhere?”

The boy shook his head, and Jake sighed. Of course, what were the odds of him stumbling across someone who have seen his friends.

“Perhaps you have an old locket then?” He tried.

“I have a ton of lockets,” the boy regarded him with curiosity. “Which one do you need?”

Jake sighed again. Apparently, luck wasn’t on his side today.

“You need to go to the hospital,” he said, pointing at the bloodied cuts. The least he could do was helping out this innocent bystander. “Where is your home? And what’s your name?”

The boy laughed and smacked Jake’s back. “Ha-ha, good one!”

However, his laughter died out when he took in Jake’s befuddlement. “You are kidding, right?”

“Uh, no...”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Oh, you must be a foreigner! I didn't know you were still allowed inside. I am John Egbert, and everyone here knows my name since, well, I am a future king of Halitus Island,” he rubbed his nose in a shy manner. “Right now I’m just an heir though.”

Jake remembered reading about Halitus declaring independence from the Empire and reconsidered his previous statement about luck. Meeting John was the best possible thing, since an heir should know everything and had access to everything.

“What are you doing here?” Jake asked, surprised to see the heir of a nation without an escort.

“Dad’s out of town, so I went out to see how my people are doing. Life in a palace can get pretty boring when the youngest person you can talk to is forty... Oh!” John smacked his forehead. “I haven’t even thanked you properly! On behalf of Halitus Island, thank you for saving my life, Jake,” John shook his hand. “In return, I can grant you anything you want, a knight title or, I don’t know, a trade agreement...”

“How about two things? Helping to find my friends and a locket?”

“I would’ve helped you anyway, no need to waste a favour on it,” he shrugged. “What happened to your friends?”

“I don’t know,” Jake squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the dull sounds of the needles striking them. “We were attacked, and they were taken away somewhere...”

“Well, someone’s bound to see them,” John said confidently. “I’ll alert the security, and they’ll report any suspicious activity. Meanwhile, why don’t we go see the lockets? I bet you haven’t been to a real palace before!”

***

There was an indistinct rumble, a sound of something crashing and people running, which meant the cells were guarded by someone.

“I can’t see anything,” Dirk crooked his neck at impossible angle trying to peer at the entrance.

“Maybe it’s because you’re wearing your dumb shades in the dark,” Jade retorted. She was trying to pick a lock with a piece of root she pulled out of the ceiling with persistence that could have been put to better use.

They have lost track of time and ran out of ideas of getting out; the locks were unpickable, the bars were buried into the ground too deeply, and until now there was no indication of human presence in here.

Dirk settled on the ground again, refusing to believe there was no way out, and slowly, a plan downed on him.

“Say, I reckon they have more tranquillizers, and if we try to break free they’ll use them on us.”

“Makes sense,” Jade stopped her lock-picking process. “What are you getting at?”

“If we pretend to be about to get out, we’ll get the ampoules and will be able to use them on the guards.”

“Make them taste their own medicine,” Jade hummed. “I’m in! But how do we pretend we got out if they can clearly see we didn’t?”

“Perhaps some disturbance will be enough.”

“I can ask Bec to bark! They’ll want him to shut up, right? And it’s so dark in here they can easily miss, and he’ll pretend they’ve got him, they won’t suspect a dog being able to do such a trick.”

Dirk nodded, thinking that if he didn't know Becquerel, that's exactly what he would think. “Good plan. Alright, let’s do it.”

And as if he was able to understand them, Bec burst into relentless loud barking immediately, and after ten minutes enough they heard footsteps and someone swearing, followed by five short shots in a row, all of which Bec dodged, falling silent immediately and dropping on the ground, successfully imitating being knocked senseless.

They strained their ears to listen how the guard cursed “that damn dog” and retreated away from the tunnel hastily.

“Now we have five capsules,” Dirk said when he was sure nobody was eavesdropping.

“Four,” Jade corrected. “One got Bec.”

She collected the capsules and petted the dog, who whined softly. “It’s okay, Bec, we will get out of here soon... We _will_ get out soon, won’t we, Dirk?”

Dirk took the tranquillizers she passed him, including the one that hit Bec. There wasn’t much substance left, but it was enough to knock a person out anyway.

“Of course we will. Now we just need to attract the guards again, shoot them, and frisk them for keys; piece of cake. Also, I’m going to need your hair.”

Jade looked at him, startled. “What for?”

“The only way to shoot the capsules in the distance is to make a bow and arrows,” he answered. Actually, there were other ways, but arrows were the only thing he felt confident using in current situation. “Your hair is of suitable length to make a bow-string.”

“O-o-oh,” she sounded excited. “It's just like in the books, cool! Alright, I’m gonna weave a string for you!”

She started plucking her hair, and in the meantime Dirk pulled as many roots from the ground as he could find. Weaving a bow out of soft material would be very tricky, but Equius once read him a whole lecture on how to make weapons to survive in the wild. He could do it.

***

John was telling the history of the lockets he’s laid out in front of him, or maybe something else, Jake wasn’t listening, his mind consumed by the ruthless ticking of the clock, counting seconds his friends spent locked away god knows where. The seconds marked off the beginning of the third hour he spent in John’s palace, a beautiful place that he would’ve enjoyed in any other situation.

As soon as they got there John sent his security people to search for Dirk, Jade, and Bec, as well as to close up the breach in the border. John’s arms got patched up, and he forced Jake to drink a huge mug of tea with St. John’s wort that he said would calm his nerves.

Once again, Jake had to tell the story of their adventures to explain what he was looking for, and after listening to it, John brought a bunch of lockets collected from all corners of the palace.

“It’s got to be one of these,” John said with utter confidence. “When my Dad decided it’s time for Halitus to become independent, we made sure to collect all the treasures belonging to the Egberts. See, this one has the Egbert crest on it – well, it’s the Halitus crest now.”

He pushed one of the lockets towards Jake; it was too new, to it couldn’t be the vessel, but Jake looked at it anyway. The Egbert crest was complex, and Jake recognized some familiar shapes and lines.

“Looks like the Empress’s crest.”

“I know, right!” John beamed, as if Jake has just passed a complicated exam. “Not many people notice it, but Dad has told me we are of royal blood, the Supreme Empress’s blood, I mean, the one from the legend. That’s where our crest comes from... See, here is the original one to compare!”

John pulled a locket from under his shirt; it had a star-shaped sapphire sparkling in the light of the sun shining through the window, but that wasn’t what attracted Jake’s attention. It was the symbols carved around the golden border that could be interpreted as a pretty pattern by an outside observer, but Jake's keen eye recognized the symbols of the ciphered spell, similar to the ones they saw on the crown.

“Is this it?” John asked eagerly, watching Jake inspecting the locket.

“I reckon it is.”

“Amazing!” John grinned. “Who knew all of this time I possessed a vessel of the spirit of Breath,” he peered at the locket curiously. “You can take it, of course. Are you sure you don’t want something else though? Saving my life is worth more than just one trinket.”

Jake shrugged, thinking about his friends. “I don’t really need anything else.”

“Alright then...” John tapped his chin thoughtfully. “How about I owe you a favour? If you ever need anything, anything at all, just ask me. Just send a letter to John Egbert, they will know whom to deliver it to.”

“Thank you, John,” Jake said, trying to appease the boy’s desire to help. He was very lucky to meet him today.

He thought about Eridan suddenly – he shouldn’t have left him like this, he must be so confused now.

The head of John’s guards came in and eyed Jake and John's bandaged wounds suspiciously, just like the first time Jake saw her. She announced that the only suspicious activity they spotted was a couple of people reporting seeing underlings, including a basilisk in the crack.

“We weren’t sure what to do with the snake, Your Highness,” she added.

“Destroy it if it threatens someone,” John answered. “Unless you have other plans for it, Jake?”

“No, you’d better destroy it, if it’s attracted to sources of magic, it will come for you and the locket soon.”

“Why do you think it stayed in the crack instead of going into the city then?” John mused.

“No idea, maybe something was drawing it there... What’s in that crack?”

“Old catacombs,” both John and the woman answered it unison. “Also used as prisons during the Imperial War.”

“So someone could hold someone hostage there?” Jake slid to the edge of his sit, feeling the answer was near.

“Oh,” John’s eyes widened in realisation. “Porrim, what do you think?”

“They haven’t been used for decades, I suppose it’s possible,” Porrim said.

“Dammit, I was so close mere hours ago!!”

Jake jumped on his feet; all of this time he was sitting in a palace drinking friggin tea!

“I’m going there.”

“Wait, you can’t! The catacombs are a series of tunnels, you’ll get lost without a map,” John protested. “Porrim, get him a map, please.”

She nodded and disappeared.

“Wait here,” John ordered. “I’ll ask some of my army people to go with you. Don’t go anywhere!”

And he hurried out of the room as well.

Jake honestly waited for whole sixty seconds, but he couldn’t take it anymore. All he has done today was waiting, and now it was time to do some action.

He was going to be a hero, he was going to save Dirk’s life, as well as Jade’s and Bec’s.

Jake put the locket around his neck and climbed out of the window into the empty garden.

***

The bow and arrows were ready, or at least a pitiful imitation Dirk could master using improvised materials. The bow was too flexible, the arrows couldn’t hurt anyone, and Equius would probably have a heart attack if he saw it (actually, this bow could make him a mass murderer, since his brothers would also die, but from laughter), but it could do the job just fine – all they needed was an ampoule with tranquillizers to scratch the skin of their victims.

At first, Dirk aimed at the torch, extinguishing it with a single shot, just so the guard wouldn’t see what they were up to.

At Jade’s command Bec started barking again, and the same guard tried to shoot him from afar, but missed – this time Bec didn’t pretend to be hit and barked ever louder.

“Damn this job, damn Ampora, I hate dogs,” the guard muttered, coming closer to their cell and turning the flashlight on.

“Oh, you’re about to choke on your words, dog-hater,” Jade said quietly, and Dirk released the stretched bow-string, hitting the guard in the chest. He let out a short yelp and fell down like a bag of potatoes; Jade and Dirk pulled his body closer.

“Ha!” Jade exclaimed, holding the guard’s tranquillizer gun. “Now I’m armed too! It has only two shots, but it’s better than nothing.”

His west contained a box of matches and a flask of water – but no keys.

Dirk drank from the flask, only now realizing how thirsty he was after hours of sitting underground, and passed it to Jade, shining the flashlight on her so that she could inspect the gun better.

“Should we try again?” She asked, pouring the remains of the water into Bec’s mouth.

“Yes,” Dirk said. “One of them’s got the have the keys.”

But Bec only managed to bark once, before another rumble, a lot closer and louder than before, resounded through the ground.

“What the hell, is this an earthquake?” The ground shook, and Jade swayed, nearly falling.

The ground shook again, and they heard someone scream, “Fuck Ampora, let’s get the hell out of here!”

“I don’t think so. The vibrations are coming from above, it’s like they’ve dropped something really huge...” Dirk listened to the rhythmic noises reverberating through the tunnels. “Or something huge is walking towards us.”

Suddenly what little natural light they had disappeared completely when something barred the tunnel.

Jade grabbed the flashlight from his hands and directed it at the end of the tunnel – it illuminated a flat ugly face of a creature that barely fit underground; an underling, no doubt, it had the same colour and milky white eyes.

Dirk took a step back involuntarily, regret of not having the katana was almost painful. Going against it with a feeble handmade bow was like fighting a dragon with a toothpick.

The creature slowly approached their cells, and Dirk, remembering how underlings react to fear, wiped all the thoughts away, creating nothing but white noise.

“Jade?” He looked at her; she was still holding on to the flashlight with one hand and a gun with another.

“I have zero emotions about this situation, none at all,” she said in a shaky voice, and the underling bared its teeth. “In my books basilisks looked a little different, that’s all.”

Bec, all tense and bristled up, growled at the basilisk, and it finally snapped, lashing out at Bec and crashing the bars on his cell with the weight of its enormous body. Fragments of ground and stones fell on their heads, Jade screamed, “Bec, be careful!” and shot at the basilisk with no effect. Its thick tail swung and the bars on Jade’s and Dirk’s cells were ripped from the ceiling, nearly smashing them; Jade grabbed Dirk’s hand and the collar of the guard’s motionless body and dragged them out of the debris into the tiny spot of free space.

The basilisk seemed to be focused solely on Bec, who was masterfully dodging snaps of its teeth. Luckily, the tunnel was narrow and didn’t allow it to turn around freely.

“Oh crap, how do we kill it?” Jade asked, following Bec’s movements with great worry.

Dirk flicked through a bunch of possibilities in his head. “Maybe we won’t have to kill it... How fast is Becquerel?”

“Sixty-five kilometres per hour,” Jade answered without missing a beat.

“Can he find Jake from here?”

“Of course!”

“How do you feel about hitching a ride on a basilisk?”

Jade’s mouth fell open. “You are _not_ serious.”

“I am always serious,” Dirk extended a hand towards her. “Come on, it’s now or never!”

Jade nodded, a wide smile played on her lips. “Bec, find the exit, then find Jake!”

Bec obediently sprinted along the tunnel, and the basilisk turned around to chase him, turning the remains of the cells into a clatter. Jade dodged chunks of soil flying from the ceiling where the basilisk’s head smashed, and threw the guard’s body onto its spine. Dirk grabbed her waist and lifted her to climb up its smooth scaly back covered with a sticky layer of scentless oil, and finally jumped on himself, catching hold of short thick horns growing closer to its head.

The basilisk was either too preoccupied with Bec, who teased it by jumping around, always out of reach, or its skin was too thick, but in any case, it didn’t seem to notice three bodies appearing on its back, and dashed after the dog through a complicated network of tunnels.

Dirk sprawled over Jade, holding them both in place, because she was too busy making sure the guard doesn’t slip off with every jolt of the basilisk’s slippery body when it leaped.

There were no people in the tunnels, everyone must’ve run away; the exit blinded their unaccustomed eyes with daylight, and then they heard them: two dry clicks of loaded guns, real guns, and a person shouting, “Hey, it’s them!”

“Jade, take the one on your left!” Dirk said and loosed an arrow into a guy on his right.

Jade discarded the empty gun that was useless now, and shoved the guard they were carrying aside, making him fall onto his colleague, knocking them out.

She threw a fist in the air victoriously and turned to face Dirk. “The team rocks again, high-five! Where did you learn archery, I thought you were a staunch swordsman?”

“Equius taught me,” he answered, dodging Jade’s hair that slapped him in the face.

Suddenly Bec stopped and twirled around something shiny on the ground, attracting their attention.

“It’s Jake’s pistol, we are on the right way! Good boy, Bec!”

Without warning, Jade slid off the basilisk face down, and Dirk barely managed to grab a handful of her skirt, securing her, as she swept the pistol off the ground and shoved it into a skirt pocket.

“Can you imagine Jake’s face when he finds out what we did?” She asked happily, and Dirk nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. She didn’t need to know that he could imagine Jake’s face in infinite different ways.

Bec found another tunnel that led directly to the surface, and soon they were running after him on the streets of the city, retracing Jake’s steps and scaring the crap out of unfortunate citizens who were in their way.

***

Jake was running so fast he almost fell into the crack, coming to a halt in the last second. There were many people standing around it, gesticulating wildly, and among them–

“Mr. Ampora!” Jake waved at him; he turned with a surprised look on his face, and so did the other two people he was talking to.

Seeing Aradia was shocking, but not as much as seeing the other man, Sollux Captor from the museum at Crystal Falls, whose face he’s already forgotten. Although he was sure now he looked a lot healthier than the last time they saw him.

“H-hello?” Jake asked, feeling his confidence fading away under the cold glare Sollux sent him. But thinking about why he was here wasn’t the most important. “Did you happen to see my friends anywhere?”

“Maybe,” Eridan answered. “Did you happen to find the locket?”

“Yes, I think so, I found a locket that fits the description... Where have you seen them?”

Eridan exchanged glances with Aradia – she had a weird sort of glint in her eyes. “Is this it, on your chest? Where did you find it?”

“John gave it to me,” Jake frowned. Why were they ignoring his questions?

“Who is John?” This time they turned to look at Sollux, who shrugged.

“John is a prince of this island, or an heir, whatever,” Jake brushed them off, even though nervousness began settling in his chest. “Where–“

“Can we see it please?” Aradia asked, tone pleasant.

“What, no! I mean yes, sure, but not now, I need to go to the catacombs, you promised to help me find Dirk, Jade, and Bec!”

Eridan came closer to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“We keep our promises, you’ll see your friends soon. But now, can we take a peek at that lo–“

“Maybe you shouldn’t focus on the locket so much,” Sollux made a caustic remark.

“Thank you for your input, Sol, but I am the boss and I’m doing the talking here. Go check how the mobilization is going and tell them to hurry up,” he rubbed a hand over his face and muttered, “one day I’ll just fire those people, they are useless pieces of garbage anyway.”

“Yes, _your highness_ ,” Sollux said sarcastically and flipped him off, but went to talk to a group of people; each of them, suspended on wire ropes, jumped in the crack after that.

Aradia watched them with a mysterious smile, and Jake’s mind blared with alert signals, like his subconscious tried to warn him something was terribly wrong with the situation.

He took a step back, and Eridan’s hand fell down.

“What are you doing here again?”

“On Halitus? Research. It’s science stuff, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Okay... What is he doing with you?”

Aradia took a tiny step behind him back – just a regular movement, nothing special, but Jake didn't spend year besting everyone in fist fights for nothing. He knew she was cutting off his escape route.

“He knew something we didn’t, very crucial information. You see, researching the Legend of Twelve Spirits and gathering evidence about the real historical events it tells us about is one thing, but finding the person who experienced them first-hand is another.”

“And then I decided to invite him to stay with us... It’s not like he had anywhere to go anyway, except for back to prison or a mental institution, thanks to you.”

Guilt stung Jake again. “I’m sorry, we didn’t know what to do back then, I didn’t mean for it to happen...”

Aradia laughed, but this time it was cold and sort of… vengeful.

“Hey, Sol, do you hear this?” Eridan called. “He didn’t mean it.”

“Phew, thanks, it makes my time in prison much better,” he replied poignantly.

“Now I will ask nicely one more time – give me the locket or I will take it by force,” Eridan said without any trace of a smile or humour, and his hand slid towards the handle of the gun.

Jake swallowed a lump in his throat; he felt as though he was dumped in ice cold water, his heart was pounding at the realisation of apparent betrayal. He searched Eridan’s and Aradia’s faces for any signs this might be an elaborate prank, but there was nothing but cold determination, and Aradia’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. He took another step back and glanced in the crack, thinking what were the odds of him surviving if he jumped there.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked in a shaky tone; he had to make sense of what’s going on.

Aradia arched an eyebrow. “Why are we researching the legend we both are specialising on?”

“Or why are we using a kid who has practically proclaimed his undying love for us to milk information we won’t be able to get in any other occasion? Sorry, you can get the answer only to the last question.”

“We were very fortunate to meet you,” Aradia said.

“And even more fortunate to find out you were so fanatical that you were willing to give away everything you knew.”

“The only thing we needed to do was to neutralize your friend,” Aradia smiled, her eyes wrinkling in satisfaction. “Without him nothing would stop you from sharing every single secret you possess.”

“And when I found you here, it was almost insultingly easy, you didn’t even suspect there was something weird, didn’t ask what I was doing here.”

Jake looked down, feeling worse than being punched in the gut. He blinked rapidly to stop traitorous prickling in his eyes, and glared at them.

“What did you do with them?”

“Nothing serious,” Eridan shrugged nonchalantly. “Just sang them a tranquillizer lullaby. However, unless you give me the locket, it will get much worse.”

He pulled a small box with a button out of his pocket.

“We really didn’t want to threaten you, but you leave us no choice,” Aradia said with genuine pity – even thought Jake didn’t know if he could believe her. “We can detonate your friends with a push of a button – you know what can stop us.”

Jake touched the chain the locket was attached to and unfastened it. He did it slowly, hoping some ingenious plan would suddenly pop up in his head, but all he could think of was panic and fear of letting anything happen to Dirk, Jade, and Bec.

His hand brushed past the scarf – he couldn’t believe he wanted to wear it because of this asshole.

The locket obediently fell into Eridan’s open palm.

“It’s legit, Ara,” Eridan said, quickly inspecting it, and put it on his neck, hiding out of sight. Jake caught a glimpse of a shell-shaped pendant already hanging there. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he made a little mocking bow.

Jake’s shaking hand curled into a fist, he wanted to punch this gloating mug, but he just couldn’t move a finger.

“Everyone is ready and waits for their big boss’s command,” Sollux reported, sending Jake another icy glance.

“Alright, let’s move out,” Eridan said. Jake completely missed the moment when the space around them cleared of all the people, leaving just the four of them in the vast empty space, surrounded by factories.

“Wait!” He stood in front of Eridan with spread arms, breathing heavily and looked him in the eye. “At least tell me where they are.”

“Hmmm,” he tapped his chin. “No idea. Good luck searching the catacombs.”

He walked right past him, but turned around, as if suddenly remembering something. It was disgusting how pretentious he was; how come Jake never noticed it before?

“Oh, and also... this was a bluff,” he dropped the box with the button in the ground carelessly. “If your intelligence wasn’t the level of a five-year old baby you’d know that it’s impossible to blow something up without a wired connection.”

“We would _never_ kill an innocent person,” Aradia added in a much calmer and more serious tone. “Unlike some. You should remember this.”

“See, we are the good guys here,” Eridan finished.

Jake thought it was impossible to sink lower and feel more crashed. He was mistaken.

And now he really was going to punch Eridan.

Jake drew his fist, Eridan covered the locket with one hand and grabbed the gun with another, Aradia casually slipped her hand over the handle of a whip, Jade yelled something... Wait, Jade?

“Stay away from my brother, you fucking piece of shit!”

Eridan jumped out of the way of an arrow that swished past them.

“Typically, Jade, when you are planning a surprise attack, you don’t scream your lungs off,” Dirk said, calmly inserting another arrow. They slid down the formation of rocks near the crack; both of them were covered in dirt, oil, and other rubbish, and it was the most beautiful sight Jake has ever seen.

“Jake!” Jade ran up to him and hugged him. “Thank god you’re alright, we were so worried!”

“I knew I couldn’t trust you,” Dirk spared a glance at Sollux, and focused on Eridan and Aradia. “Also, I want my coat back, I paid fifty quid for it.”

“Yet your knowledge didn’t help you,” Aradia sang. “Come on, Eridan, that’s enough monologuing for today.”

“But I wanted to tell how we created a masterplan to use him the day we met in Careote,” Eridan whined. “It was an incredible accomplishment, seeing how I created it on such a short notice, and there's so much to tell about how we formed a secret base in the catacombs, and-”

“That’s enough, let’s move,” she said firmly, and took his shoulder.

Without warning, Dirk loosened an arrow at her, and she fell down, grabbed by Sollux in the last moment.

Dirk reached for the last arrow – Eridan pointed his gun at him – Jake cocked his pistol, all conflicted thoughts about Eridan gone, leaving only one: if he threatened Dirk, Jake was going to make a threat as well.

But before any of them could attack, a basilisk roared, showing its face out of the crack again, and leaped at them. Everyone scattered, dodging its teeth and claws; Jake had only three bullets left, and, of course, they didn’t make it twitch, not even combined with fire from Eridan’s gun and Dirk’s arrow–

–the ground around them exploded, and Jake stumbled backwards, gripping Jade automatically; he grabbled for Dirk with another hand and tugged him close as well, wrapping an arm around his waist, all three of them hitting the ground.

“You missed it!” John shouted, and Jake’s eyes flew open to see him, Porrim, and a bunch of other people next to a cannon. John covered his ears, “Load another one!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The next cannon-ball ripped a hole in the basilisk’s chest, and it fell down the crack with a drawn-out wail, spilling oil everywhere.

John whooped and ran towards the crack to peer down. Satisfied with what he saw, he cleared his throat and turned to the group near the cannon.

“Today is a great day for our newborn nation,” he said solemnly. “We have saved Halitus from a horrible basilisk, and now our citizens can sleep in peace, now and forever. With power vested in me I hereby proclaim this day to be a national holiday!”

“Thankfully, your father didn’t let you be in charge of this, otherwise you would have made every single day a national holiday, Your Highness,” Porrim’s voice was accusatory.

John gave her an innocent look. “People deserve to be happy.”

“Shit, they’re gone,” Dirk muttered, propping his head on an elbow and looking around. “Ampora and his gang. Must’ve used the explosion as a distraction. Well, at least we know who we are going up against, beside Vriska.”

“Yeah,” Jake released him, avoiding looking him in the eye. Dirk and Jade scrambled on their feet, and Jake followed, even though he would have rather stayed lying on the ground.

The pain of guilt and betrayal struck again.

He failed on all accounts while both of them were right, as simple as that.

Pathetic.

Jade has warned him that going to Halitus was a bad idea, Dirk has warned him not to trust Eridan and Aradia. And if Bec could talk, he would warn him about something important too.

“Bec!” Jade exclaimed, and hugged the white dog who dashed towards her. “Look, Dirk, he found your coat, good boy!”

Bec dropped the coat, and Dirk and Jade unwrapped it like a Christmas present, retrieving the rifle, the sword, and communication equipment.

“Thank you, Becquerel,” Dirk petted him, and Bec went to Jake to bump his nose into him.

“Yes, bud, I’m happy you’re alright too,” Jake murmured, while Bec nuzzled at his knees.

John left his group and looked at them with curiosity, positively buzzing with excitement.

“Hey, Jake! I wanted to get an army, but turns out it’s out of my jurisdiction, so they allowed me to take only one squadron, one cannon, and Porrim. It worked out pretty well anyway. I wanted to ask why you ran away, but I see you’ve saved your friends!”

“Actually, we kinda saved ourselves, in an epic way that I’m sure you all want to hear,” Jade said proudly, wiping smudges of oil off her face.

“Oh yes, yes, I do!” John said. “I’m John, by the way, and you must be Jade and Dirk, Jake has told me so much about you.”

“John, as in _John Egbert_?” Dirk asked, shaking his hand.

“Yes!” John beamed. “It’s so great when people from the mainland recognize you!”

“How on earth did you end up snatching a prince, Jake?”

Dirk placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder, and he lifted his gaze momentarily to see his smile, small but relieved – and stared at the ground again, unable to handle it.

Dirk was probably thinking he did something great, when in fact...

“Actually, my title is Heir,” John corrected. “And Jake saved my life!”

Jake grimaced – John was exaggerating, that imp wouldn’t have killed him, and coming across him was just dumb luck.

“Aww, my brother is the saviour of humanity, I’m so proud,” Jade punched his forearm and laughed.

“Did you find the locket?” Dirk asked, and Jake’s heart sank. This is it, the question he was afraid of.

“Yes, but... I lost it. I mean, they took it. I mean... I gave it to them.”

Jade’s face fell. “What do you mean?”

“I met Eridan, and he said he wanted to help, so I told him everything, and he asked to see the locket, so I gave it to him, because he said if I don’t he’ll kill you, he say he had this bomb, but I forgot you can't detonate it remotely, so I believed him,” he jabbered, as if talking faster will make everything less painful. “So go ahead, give me your _‘I told you so.’_ “

“We won’t say that,” Dirk said.

“Yeah, it’s okay, we’ll find a way to get it back,” Jade added, and it was obvious they were hiding their disappointment under a feigned calmness.

“I apologise for raining on your reunion,” John interjected, “but the onlookers are going to start asking questions.”

The citizens of Halitus has begun gathering around them, looking shocked and pointing fingers at them, held in place by John’s guards.

“What do you want me to tell them?”

“Anything but truth,” Dirk said.

John pondered it for a minute, and finally said, “Porrim, make an announcement! A sea monster escaped its natural habitat and was neutralized; everyone whose property was damaged will receive a restitution; the scientists studied it and guarantee that this is rare deviation that won’t happen again. ...It won’t happen again, right?”

Jade shrugged.

“Anyway, I understand if you want to go home right away, but still, I would like to invite you to stay in my residence – I bet you haven’t been to a real palace before!”

“Do you have food?” “Do you have a shower?” Jade and Dirk asked in unison, and John laughed.

“We have twenty bathrooms, and I’ll ask our cooks to roast a dozen turkeys!”

“We are in! Oh, by the way, Jake, we found your pistol during our amazing jailbreak,” Jade tossed him a pistol carelessly, the one that Jake has already said goodbye to.

 _Of course they found it,_ he thought bitterly.

***

Jake was amazed.

Escaping an underground prison after being pumped with tranquillizers, riding a basilisk, with no weapons but a handmade bow (Jade sounded so proud when she was talking about making a string out of her own hair, and Dirk was so smart to think of it, and...) – it was something Jake would fabricate for his stories to make them more colourful, but they managed to make it happen in real life.

They were perfect. And what did he do today? Nothing, just got used.

As soon as they got in the palace and used Bec’s transmitter to tell Rose what happened, John welcomed them to use his bathrooms (Bec smelled like lavender and vanilla now) and provided them with something to wear while their own bedraggled clothes were in the laundry. The laundry was taken by Porrim, who seemed to be not only the head of the guards, but also someone like a personal assistant.

“It’s my job to tell you that you can’t leave the palace again, you’ve broken enough rules for today,” she said after leading them to the dining room.

“But Porrim, you can’t expect me to just sit here all day,” John pouted.

“Your father forbids you to leave the palace without a bodyguard and you know it,” he said sternly.

John sighed deeply and turned to Dirk and Jade. “See what my life is like?”

Dirk looked over the tall ceilings and rich fabrics decorating the room, and dumped half of the bowl of pasta on his plate. “Yeah, absolutely horrible.”

“God, who knew sitting in a dungeon all day makes you so hungry,” Jade said, stuffing her mouth with turkey (Porrim said cooking twelve would be too excessive, so they were given only three).

“Those were catacombs, Jade, not a dungeon,” Dirk replied.

“Whatever, a dungeon sounds a lot cooler. Do you hear it, Jake? If I won’t see this scene in the next volume of Wondrous Adventures, I will have to rewrite the manuscript myself! And you know I’m a horrible writer!”

She laughed, and Jake offered a weak smile in return. “Of course I’ll include it.”

His gaze lowered in his plate again, and he poked a lone meatball with a silver fork. His throat was numb, and the food tasted like cardboard.

The table John set for them was crammed with food like he was trying to feed a class of starving schoolkids, including a cake (“Make sure you try it, it’s my Grandma’s recipe and Halitus traditional meal”) and various deserts they’ve never seen before.

John was beaming like he cooked everything himself; and while he mentioned knowing the proper usage of ten different forks, he also said he wouldn’t mind if they didn’t use table manners at all, and didn’t say Your Highness when addressing him. He also said that they could go anywhere in the palace they wanted.

John Egbert was a very kind and generous person – or maybe he was tired of the royal life and wanted a small charity project to pass the time. Jake didn’t know what to believe anymore.

Dirk said something, and Jade slammed her fist on the table, bursting with laughter, and as Jake watched them, an ugly beast buried its claws in his heart. If they become the best of friends, they wouldn’t need him anymore. Jade would have a better brother figure, and Dirk certainly wouldn’t want a failure for a boyfriend or a friend.

They might have been laughing now, but simply because they didn’t want to make a scene in front of John; as soon as they got back on the dirigible they would pounce on him with accusations and kick him out of the team for leading them into an obvious trap.

Jake sank deeper into a soft leather chair. If it was true, he’d do anything to stay at John’s residence as long as possible.

“Jake?”

He jerked his head up at the sound of Dirk’s voice and saw him holding out a furcula.

“Do you want to do the wishbone?”

Jake shrugged, sinking even lower and trying to assimilate with the chair. “I’m not into this tradition.”

He lied; he loved wishbones, and Jade knew it. Dirk somehow knew it too, because Jake could see his worried frown.

“I want to do the wishbone with you!” John grabbed one end of the bone and snapped it in half, whooping when he got a bigger half. “I wish for the world peace and new friends!”

The only good thing about today was that John was too young, and Dirk wouldn’t be interested in him; if he had to add jealousy to the list of things that made up the worst day in his life, he wouldn’t have had the energy to deal with it.

“So tell me, John,” Jade began. “How did your Dad decide to become a king of Halitus?”

John hummed, glancing at the Halitus crest painted with gold on all the porcelain platters.

“Well, he’s always cared about this community more than the Empress, so about fifteen years ago he began the process of becoming a sovereign state. All Egberts were born on Halitus, you know. Some say the first Egbert moved to Halitus at times of the Supreme Empress’s ruling... The others say we are even related to her,” he shrugged. “Not like it matters, it’s definitely not a direct relation, we fouled the royal blood,” John said and immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, gazing at them fearfully. “Don’t tell Dad I said it!”

“Why, is it a cuss word in your family?”

“Well, no, it’s just that it’s a bad thing to say about a person, that just because they're not related to the royal caste it makes their blood impure. Your ancestors don’t define who you are, right? It doesn’t matter what kind of people they married. Dad says he hoped that people who are hung up on the purity of their blood disappeared ages ago, but they still exist,” John scowled. “Thankfully, Dad and I keep an eye on them and don’t allow them on our island.”

“You are going to be a great king one day, John,” Jade kept nodding solemnly throughout the story.

John smiled at her.

“Does your father know what you are doing now?” Dirk asked, and John looked at him sheepishly.

“Well, no... He is on the mainland, settling the matters with the Empress, but I’m sure he will approve, after all, he left me in charge for this week, he trusts me. And, just so you know, even if it turns out he won’t be willing to help you, you can always rely on me,” he said seriously.

“Thank you, John,” Dirk said.

“Yes, we couldn’t thank you enough,” Jade added. “You’ve done so much for us.”

“Dad doesn’t let me have friends around here too often, to be honest. I’m happy to have guests. Oh!” He exclaimed suddenly. “You know what I usually do when guests are around? Play the piano!”

And that’s how Jake found himself trailing after chipper John to another room with rich decor, where an old white piano was standing.

“Alright, this one is called Pipe Organ, don’t ask why,” John said, putting sheet music in front of him.

“Is it because originally it was written for an organ?” Jade piped, settling on a sofa.

“I said no questions! But yes, you are right.”

His hands flew over the keys, producing a sweet flowing tune; meanwhile Jade and Dirk were talking under their breath about something, of course they did.

Jake was ready to sink into the depths of misery again, when suddenly Dirk whispered right into his ear.

“You know we don’t blame you for losing the locket, right? You didn’t know Ampora is a double-faced fucktard.”

Jake shrugged helplessly. “Doesn’t matter. They still have it.”

“They have one, we have three, we are still way up. Besides, they won’t figure out what to do with it.”

 _An archaeologist and a historian would find a way to activate the vessel in the matter of days,_ he wanted to say, but shrugged instead. If he wasn’t such a blabbermouth, they won’t even have this conversation.

Jade bent over Dirk’s knees and whispered, “We’ll get it back, don’t worry!”

“I know we will,” Jake answered, because it wasn’t about stealing the locket back, and they didn’t seem to understand it – and why would they understand, with their perfect, treachery-less day.

Jade’s expression changed to disappointment, and then to determination, and she started whispering something hastily into Dirk’s ear.

The melody was lengthy, and they finished long before John played the last accord, and bowed to his little audience.

“That was great, John, you’ve got a real talent!” Jade applauded.

“You think so?” He lit up like a Christmas tree. “If you like it, I can give you records of my music.”

Like a magician, he produced a pack of records out of nowhere, and shoved them into Jade’s hands. Each was embroidered with the Halitus crest and a title, among which Jake spotted weird names, like _Showtime_ and _Harlequin_.

Porrim came in with bags of clothes and announced, “The laundry is ready, Your Highness.”

“Well, I guess it’s our cue to leave then,” Jade stood up. “We can’t thank you enough, John, but we’ve already overused your hospitality.”

“No, please stay, at least till the evening!” John begged. “People around my age are so rarely present here, I don’t want to get stuck with Porrim again – no offense, Porrim. Please?”

And so they stayed – John had a weird sort of child-like charm that even Bec couldn’t resist.

Jake took his clean clothes, neatly folded and smelling of fruit detergent, and, when no one was looking, shoved the green scarf into a flower-pot with a huge plant. Wide leaves concealed it completely, and Jake tried not to think about what it used to symbolize. It was stupid to give so much meaning to a simple piece of green cotton.

He was stupid.

The last couple of hours were spent on the grand tour of the palace (during which John managed to flog a set of silverware as a gift to Jade, who unsuccessfully tried to fight him off) – Jade and Dirk didn’t try to talk to Jake about the locket again, just exchanged meaningful glances; and Jake didn’t know whether to be glad or disappointed that they gave up so easy.

And that’s why, after John insisted they took his boat (that looked more like a small ship) to the mainland, when they got on the dirigible, and Dirk spread out a map on the table and asked, “How about we discuss our further plans now, maybe we should pay Rose a visit?”, Jake did the most sensible thing he could think of.

“You do that, but I’d better go to sleep.”

“It’s nine in the evening,” Jade said with her familiar ‘I know you are lying’ voice. “If you want, we won’t talk, we’ll just eat the cake John packed for us...”

“Timezones can screw up one’s perception of time,” he managed a forced yawn and offered her what he hoped looked like a genuine smile. “So… goodnight!”

Jade watched him with narrowed eyes, and Dirk with arms crossed on his chest. Even Bec looked like he was judging him, and so he disappeared in the protective quietness of his bedroom quickly, where nothing could stop him from wallowing in self-deprecation, replaying the list of his mistakes over and over.

He listened to the hushed voices of Dirk and Jade; they talked for a long, long time, and as Jake lied and listened to their muffled whispers, he remembered the way their grandparents sometimes discussed what to do with him and Jade after they’ve pulled another prank, while the twins eavesdropped, hiding behind the corner. It was clear as day that both Dirk and Jade are on the whole other level.

Both of them were too good for him.

And Dirk would never fall in love with someone as pathetic of a screw-up as him.

He also thought that their new enemy was a group of three, just like Vriska’s group – it’s like destiny itself was hinting that the team of Dace Hagler should be one person short to match.

He sighed, turning on the other side, and something sharp dug into his cheek. It was a box where the pictures they printed earlier were.

Including the one with Eridan and Aradia that he asked Dirk to take.

And, because Jake hasn’t tormented himself enough for today, he pulled it out and examined every hated line of their fake smiles and his own overly happy face, wondering how could he ever trade real important people for a couple of idolized perfections.

They must have laughed so much after their meeting in Careote.

Jake crumpled the photo in a messy ball and hurled it at the ceiling with all the strength he could master – it bounced and hit him right in the face.

He just gave up and plopped on his stomach, face buried in the pillow.

And then he heard the sound of Jade’s guitar from the kitchen, and it was the last straw of today’s chain of misery. She hasn’t played the guitar for _months_ while they were together, but of course, she got inspiration again, now that she was with Dirk.

Jake curled into a tight ball, pressing his face into the pillow so hard it was hard to breathe.

He wanted to cry like a baby, or like he was ten again, and the man from the train company came in with a mournful face and delivered a death certificate with Joss and June Harleys’ names, or when he and Jade were called to the court to claim their inheritance...

All of those times he felt like his life was ending.

Today wasn’t any different.

He fell asleep before Dirk came in, the exhausting day taking its toll, and in his dreams, Jake was preparing to be the best man at Dirk and Jade’s wedding, only to be kicked out from the ceremony in the last moment, after being informed that Bec would be a much better candidate.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Jake and his kind of prophetic dreams...  
> And, well, when I said "the worst day" in the description, I meant "the worst day so far". Poor boy doesn't know what's coming.
> 
> Anyways, it's worth mentioning that I love Eridan a lot... And I like imagining all the Maryams working in governmental structures.  
> Also, I hope we can agree that John makes a great ~~prince~~ heir.
> 
> As usual, I recommend visiting [waoheas tag](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/tagged/waoheas) on my tumblr to see extra information and drawings, or if you want to ask questions/submit comments, both are appreciated.  
> The moment with Dirk and Jade riding a basilisk _needs_ to be drawn... So you'll probably see it there too.


	7. Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dace Hagler attends a wedding; shit gets real and so does magic, and some accidental kissing happens.
> 
> While I was writing this, I wondered, how many cliches can I stuff in a single chapter?  
> (edit: only 2 weeks later i noticed i misspelled the word "cliche" :/ )

The first thing Jake noticed when he woke up was Dirk’s slow breathing on his left. Jake rubbed his swollen eyes and glanced at the clock – eight in the morning, he has slept for eleven hours. It felt strange to wake up so early, before Dirk and Jade.

At least he felt a little bit better now, his usual tactic of sleeping things off worked, and the night dulled yesterday’s events. While he was the only one awake, and as long as he didn’t allow himself to remember, he could pretend nothing happened.

He grabbed the crumpled photo and shoved it in a drawer before the pain of betrayal could get the best of him, and went to the bathroom to stick his face under bracing cold water.

This made him think that he couldn’t avoid Dirk and Jade anymore. This didn’t harmonize with his want to stay, unless he wanted to be an attraction for Jade to talk about, like _“dear guests, to your left you can see my brother, he doesn’t talk to us because he is a pathetic loser, but I allow him to travel with us to document the adventures of me and my perfect boyfriend...”_

Jake inhaled some toothpaste at this thought and had a coughing fit. He kind of hated himself for hating the idea of Dirk and Jade getting together so much. But... No, no buts. It was a shallow thing to do.

He returned back to the bedroom, got dressed quickly, and curled up on a sleeping bag, reading a book, occasionally stealing glances at Dirk’s peaceful face, trying not to think about what they were doing last night.

He regretted leaving them, and it had nothing to do with jealousy – for a person who was so afraid of being left out, intentionally putting a distance between him and his friends was the stupidest thing to do.

Dirk woke up much later, cracking one eye open and rubbing a hand over another.

“Morning,” his voice was hoarse after sleep. “What time is it?”

“Half past nine,” Jake answered, and Dirk jerked up immediately.

“Shit, I overslept!”

Jake couldn’t resist snickering – his hair was a complete mess, strands pointing in every direction in the most ridiculous way. Dirk’s lips pursed, and he attempted to get the fringe out of his eyes. His hand brushed the shades that were lying nearby, but he didn’t put them on.

“Is Jade awake?”

Figures, he’d ask about Jade first. Jake lowered his gaze in the book again.

“No,” he answered, hoping it didn’t sound too hurt. He couldn’t resist adding, “Must be tired from your jam session.”

Dirk was silent for a moment.

“Yeah, she must be. We stayed up pretty late, after all, working our asses off. We wanted to write you a song,” he said. “Well, Jade wanted, it was her idea, and to entitle it _My Brother Is The Best_. I wasn’t supposed to say it, Jade wanted to do it herself, but we didn’t get past the first verse anyway. Jade didn’t like the rhymes I chose for strut... And some other words,” he hummed.

Jake just stared at him.

“You wrote a song for me, really? Oh, thank you, I don’t–”

“Don’t say ‘don’t deserve it’, the first verse specifically says, _‘my twin brother is the best, he saves princes of foreign lands, all treasures and sunlight on the earth is a thing that he deserves...’ ”_ He grimaced. “Wow, for some reason it sounded less lame when Jade was writing it at four in the morning after two litres of coffee.”

Jake breathed out a laugh; bad feeling was dissolving slowly, giving place for blooming warmth of affection. “Yes, writing is tough... You shouldn’t have stayed up so late for this though.”

“We had a lot of things to discuss besides the song,” Dirk said, entwining his fingers together, and Jake’s smile slipped off. This was it, the serious talk.

Jake gripped the book tighter, shifting away from Dirk subconsciously.

“Do you remember how you said you trusted me?”

“Uh, yes,” Jake said slowly. This didn’t start like he expected it would.

“And you still do?”

“Of course!”

“Then trust me when I say that neither Jade nor I are blaming you for the established situation. Jade will say what she wants later, I will be speaking on my own behalf now. First of all, the fact that we don’t have the Breath locket right now is not the end of the world and is fixable. You didn’t lose it, they tricked and threatened you, this doesn’t count.”

“But it’s not about the locket,” Jake sighed. Now it was easy to admit it out loud, especially seeing Dirk’s shades-less face and dishevelled hair. It gave a strange sense of intimacy and kind of distracted him from everything else. “The worst thing is me being... well, tricked. I should have listened to you when you told me to keep my mouth shut. And I think... even if we ended up getting the locket back, it would still feel horrible, I would still be at fault for practically drawing our route on a map and handing it to them on a silver platter, and for believing everything they said. And I’m sorry for it, for ruining the mission,” he wrapped his hands around his knees tightly.

Dirk watched him with a serious expression, not judging, but attentive.

“It’s not your fault that Ampora and Megido are double-faced asswipes, you couldn’t have known their plans prior to us arriving on Halitus, unless they revealed them on their own accord – and they wouldn’t, I’ve checked a couple of their works, they seem to be very keen on keeping up an impression of normal people. But, since people should learn from their mistakes instead of crying about them, we will just have to take precautions from now on, which is being extra careful about information disclosure. Maybe we need some code words...” He shook his head. “I digress. What was your second argument, ruining the mission? Saving a life and making a powerful friend is the opposite of ruining. And that is all I have no say on the matter,” Dirk looked at Jake, as if trying to say, _I'd like to see you try to counter me_.

And Jake didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth and closed it immediately, aware that any protest he'd say at this point would sounded stupid. Dirk was reasonable, as usual, dismantling everything he was worried about, and the more he thought about it, the easier it became to believe he overreacted. His usual optimistic way of thinking rose tentatively, and optimism said that if someone like Dirk, who represented intelligence and voice of reason, was on his side, then maybe, just maybe, they will find a way to fix everything.

Dirk’s eyebrows knitted, maybe he was wondering what else to say since Jake wasn’t answering.

Jake never noticed how much mimic he had because of those damn shades, and god, he wanted to see more.

“Look, you have many good qualities that people like Ampora can only dream about, you have intuitive knowledge of magic, and know a great deal in navigation and geography, you’re an excellent shot, and...” He made a tiny movement with his hand and looked at the ceiling. “Actually, if you want a list, you should ask Jade, she knows all of them too. The point is, don’t waste your energy on people like them, they just don’t deserve it. Besides,” he smiled in a dangerous way, “I can think of so many possible revenge scenarios.”

“So you really are okay with what I did?” Jake asked nervously; if he was voicing his doubts, he might all well voice all of them. “You are not going to kick me out?”

Dirk looked at him like he has just suggested eggs grew on trees.

“What kind of a teammate wants to kick out a valuable member who knows the most about the thing they are looking for, and fighting the creatures they face? It’s called an irrational mutiny and it’s not how Dace Hagler does things.”

Jake finally found himself able to grin, feeling immense relief; he was seriously within an ace of hugging him.

God, he loved this man.

“Thank you,” he said, hoping he could convey all the gratitude in these words. “And sorry I acted like a bonehead yesterday, I should’ve talked to you instead of… being a bonehead.”

“It’s okay, we figured that if you didn’t want to talk to us, forcing it wouldn’t do any good,” he stretched and finally climbed out of the sleeping bag. “Anyway, you’d better go wake your sister up for her part of the pep talk.”

“Sure,” Jake said, but his feet trailed after Dirk in the bathroom, to watch him grab a comb and start arranging his hair into its everyday shape.

He was looking in the mirror with great concentration, and Jake loved the relaxed and domestic way he looked, in the pyjama bottoms and a sleeveless top; he might seriously consider waking up earlier every day just to witness this.

“The water tank is almost empty,” Dirk’s voice lifted him from his musings. “We will need to schedule a resupply.”

“Huh? Right, I’ll take care of it. Where are we going now?”

“Nocteville.”

A contented sigh escaped Jake’s lips. Home was good, home would get rid of all the doubts left.

Dirk’s shoulders were covered in a lot more freckles than when he first saw him; must be the sun exposure, and the tattoo was incomprehensible as ever. Jake shouldn’t have stared at how well built he was, and how the baggy top made his body look, so instead he pretended to inspect the tattoo, at least it was a valid excuse.

“Did it hurt?” Jake asked.

“When I feel from heaven? Not really,” Dirk answered, trading a comb for a toothbrush.

“No,” Jake laughed. “When you got tattooed.”

“Nah. Adrenaline and thick skin of a thirteen-year-old must have saved me.”

Jake peered at the messy lines forming a man’s face. “Is it supposed to be someone? Or is it one of your irony things where you tattoo a face of a person you don’t know and spend the rest of your life with it?”

“Unfortunately, thirteen-year-old me didn’t think of this undoubtefully wonderful idea. It’s a character from my little brother’s comics, he dared me to perpetuate his masterpiece, so I chose the most timeproof method. That was before I cut ties with them,” he looked at the toothbrush with an unreadable expression. “So you and Jade never had any major conflicts? None at all?”

Jake blinked at the abrupt change of topic and recollected the nineteen years of his life with Jade. “Not that I can remember. We argue, of course, about who is going to do the chores, or who forgot to close the door when it rains, that’s all.”

“Alright, spill. What’s your secret?”

Jake made a helpless gesture. “I don’t know, we don’t have any reason to argue? We are a family, after all, the last Harleys, we can’t fall apart.”

Dirk hummed and looked at his reflection, fixing the strands of hair that fell on his forehead.

“I wonder if things would be different if I had a sister and grandparents instead of two brothers... But nevermind that,” he faced Jake. “I need to get dressed, and that’s where the free part of the show ends, so you’d better go wake Jade up.”

He led Jake through the doorway and nudged him towards Jade’s bedroom, while he was fighting the mental image of Dirk getting undressed, accompanied by the word “show”.

Jake tiptoed into Jade’s room, stepped over sleeping Bec, and shook her gently; she grumbled and swatted his hand away.

“Five more minutes, Bec...” She cracked her eyes open and sat up immediately, putting her glasses on and yawning. “Oh. Morning, Jake. You’re up early, what time it is? Is Dirk awake? Did you two talk?”

“Ten, yes, and yes,” Jake answered. Bec stretched and wagged his tail, sticking his head under Jake’s hand to be petted.

“How are you feeling?” Jade asked with obvious concern that made Jake think about how pointless his breakdown was. Of course, Jade would always support him, she was his sister.

“Better. Sorry I was such a doofus yesterday and didn’t talk to you.”

“Oh, it’s okay, we are the ones who should say sorry for leaving you hanging, we didn’t know how to approach you,” she squeezed him in a tight hug. “I love you no matter what, you know that, right? And nothing will break us apart, especially not two idiots who are not good enough for you. We know and experienced so much more than them, they must be simply envious of your success.”

Jake sighed, finding comfort in Jade’s embrace, like a final piece of puzzle clicked in place, and patted her back.

Jade released him and grabbed her guitar. “Now listen to what I wrote yesterday! It was supposed to be a song, but turns out we are not writers, unlike some of the more talented members of this group... So enjoy the melody without any lyrics.”

She strummed guitar strings, making an upbeat melody flow, and Jake thought that he would never doubt Jade again, because she and Bec were the constants of his life.

When they gathered in the kitchen, Jake saw the map still lying on the table, now with several thumbtacks stuck in it; the two of them were in the names of the cities that Jake recognized as Aradia’s and Eridan’s birth places. Dirk and Jade must have done their research while he was sulking and hugging a pillow.

Dirk moved the map to make way for cups and plates; Jake raised his head and noticed he still hasn’t put on his shades – they were folded and neatly tucked in the chest pocket of his shirt. Jake wondered if he simply forgot to put them on, but Dirk wasn’t the type of person to forget a major part of his identity, so it had to be intentional.

Jake couldn’t stop staring, and when Dirk leaned towards him over the table, peering right into his eyes, Jake hoped he wouldn’t notice the way he gulped involuntarily.

“You were right about imitating my brother,” Dirk said quietly. “It doesn’t make much sense anymore.”

“So you are going to stop wearing them?” Jake asked, unable to break eye contact.

“Well, I still have to worry about my brand recognition, so I’ll still wear them in public. Just not here,” he gave Jake a tiniest of smiles, straightened, and said loudly, so that Jade could hear too, “Anyway, I was talking to Rose yesterday and found out a very interesting fact. Remember Porrim, John’s assistant? Her last name is Maryam, and she is Kanaya’s aunt.”

“Wow, no way!” Jade’s eyes widened. “It really is a small world.”

After breakfast they all wandered off to mind their own business; Jake cringed when he saw Dirk reading “Apocalypse Arisen” by Aradia Megido, and had to fight an urge to grab a torch when he saw “The Fallen Empire” by Eridan Ampora lying nearby, a sighed copy.

“It’s important to learn what your enemy knows, so that we know how to oppose them,” Dirk said, but it still didn’t stop Jake from wanting to burn everything that had their names on it. He wished a miracle would happen, and due to some sort of spirit power he could acquire the ability to change the past, so that he could erase that day from existence... But he wouldn’t do it, because it would mean losing his date with Dirk as well.

So he just sneaked the book away from Dirk with the intention of tearing the page with Ampora’s signature out.

“What are you doing?!” Jade fumed, when she heard a ripping sound.

“Nothing, I just don’t want it to be here,” he wanted to crumple the page, but Dirk stopped him.

“Don’t, it can come in handy later.”

Jake frowned, waiting for explanations, and Dirk carefully smoothed the paper, showing Eridan’s long self-indulgent message and curly signature.

“See this? We’ve got a sample of his hand-writing and signature.”

“Okay, so?”

“So,” he said like he had to explain the most obvious thing, “they are public personas who can gain information by their mere image. And if Ampora’s university gets a letter from him, saying ‘My head is full of shit, please fire me’, I bet at least some of his resources will be cut.”

Jake snorted. “I don’t think Sandford University will find such a letter believable.”

“On the contrary, if he always talks like he is the centre of the universe, receiving an insulting letter from him wouldn't be surprising. You are a writer, you know his speech patterns, make up something credible,” Dirk passed him the page; yes, that did sound like a good idea.

“Speaking of weaknesses, what else can you tell us about him?” Jade asked, and Jake thought for a moment.

“Well, you are correct, he loves monologuing about how smart he is, and how elaborate his plans are. I don’t know how we can use it though, talk him to death?”

“That is an option,” Dirk nodded. “Next time just ask him about how he comes up with his genius ideas, and execute your own plans while he is worshipping himself.”

Jake smirked. “It’s like he has never read an adventure novel. Everyone knows talking is a villain’s downfall.”

“What about Aradia Megido?” Jade asked.

“I don’t know, she seemed sensible, and judging by the way she writes, she is a completely normal person... Maybe enjoys the topics of death a little too much; I've heard she was one of those people who dress in all black and talk about afterlife all the time when she was younger, but she is an archaeologist, it’s understandable.”

“But Ampora is her boss, correct? She has to obey his commands, here’s her weakness,” Dirk said.

Jade scowled. “Sounds far-fetched.”

“We’ll try to come up with something else later,” Jake said quickly. “What about the third guy, Sollux?”

“I don’t know, should we even include him?” Jade asked. “He seemed a little... disinterested in what’s going on.”

“He hates me,” Jake said without thinking. “Me specifically.”

“Yes, I noticed,” Dirk nodded. “He thinks you are at fault for the Crystal Falls incident.”

“But I kind of am...”

Strangely enough, the events concerning the spirit of Doom have been numbed in his memory, perhaps because everything seemed to happen so long ago, even though in reality it’s been mere two months.

“In any case,” Dirk continued, “this gives an advantage to Jade and me.”

“And Bec,” Jade added, frowning. “Are you suggesting we use Jake as bait?”

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘bait’, it would be more like a distraction.”

“I’m up to anything you suggest,” Jake said, and Jade smirked at the way he was too quick to support him – and Jake found himself smiling back, wide and genuine (if slightly embarrassed).

Everyone acted like they usually did, nothing's changed.

Everything was at peace, like it should be.

***

Much later, after he spent some time drawing the basilisk from memory, accompanied by quick sketches of John and Porrim, Jake stumbled across the bow and a single arrow with a capsule tied to it. Once more, he admired the mastery with which Dirk and Jade managed to make it while sitting in the dungeon.

Thinking he would do no harm if he tried it out, Jake aimed an arrow at the dartboard and extraordinarily missed; the arrow hit the wooden wall with a sad _clunk_ and fell down.

“Hey, you should be careful with this,” Dirk said, turning away from a lengthy conversation he was having with Rose via the transmitter. “There are still traces of tranquilizers inside the capsule, you don’t want to put any of us to sleep accidentally. One drop knocks you out better than a baseball bat.”

“Speaking of which,” Jade chimed in. “Aren’t tranquilizers supposed to be illegal to use outside of medical institutions?”

“I’m working on it,” Dirk tapped the transmitter. “I’ve asked Rose to ask Kanaya to look up the ways of calling Ampora and Megido to account for usage of illegal preparations.”

“You can also ask Rose to ask Kanaya to ask Porrim to ask John to charge them for trespassing,” Jade added.

“Or you can simply ask John directly,” Jake said. “He seemed eager to help.”

“Indeed, although the mishaps of the mainland are probably out of his jurisdiction,” Dirk said, resuming his concentration on typing messages for Rose.

The last problem Jake didn’t tackle today was Dirk’s and Jade’s closeness, and seeing how today was the day he solved all of the dilemmas, he decided to give it a shot right now and subtly ask Jade about it. He waited till he was sure Dirk wasn't paying attention to him, and sat next to Jade.

“So... You and Dirk are best friends now?”

“I suppose so,” Jade smiled fondly at Dirk's back.

“Good, good... Anyway... You are going to ask him out?”

The smile slipped off, making way for an indignant expression.

“Oh my god, are you at it again? I thought we’ve already figured out that I’m not going to steal your boyfriend away from you!” She groaned, barely above a whisper.

“He is not my– I mean, I just thought–“

“Why do you keep using your imagination in a wrong way, thinking up weirdass scenarios and then tormenting yourself with them? Okay, let’s settle this once and for all. Hey, Dirk!” She shouted. “Jake told me such a funny joke right now!”

Dirk turned away from the transmitter once more. “I’m dying to hear it.”

Jake pinched Jade’s elbow and hissed, “Don’t you dare tell him–“

“He says we’d make a cute couple!”

Dirk smirked and gave him thumbs up. “That’s hilarious, Jake, who knew you were a comedian at heart?”

“Won’t you say that if we make a list of things that can never ever happen, it’ll be on top?” Jade laughed.

“This will definitely be in the top five, somewhere between naming all digits of pi and getting a perfect haircut from a barber,” Dirk said, sending Jake a small smile, and focused on deciphering a new message that’s just rolled out of the machine.

“See?” Jade whispered. “Now please, _please_ , put that little jealous heart of yours to rest and fill it up with something nice instead, like cookies or cake.”

It was an easy thing for Jade to say, a person who, now that Jake was thinking about it, was never romantically interested in anyone or jealous of anyone.

But he did take a piece of John's cake anyway, thinking that he didn’t have a reason to doubt Jade’s words, and everything was going to be fine.

***

Dirk summed up his conversation with Rose by telling that she has found another lead for them, but wouldn’t tell them the details until she was sure the information she got about the ring of Life was correct.

As soon as Jake heard it, he buried himself in legends and analysis to find out what possible evil powers this spirit could possess, and came to a conclusion that it has something to do with creation: giving life to inanimate objects and bringing ideas into existence.

“Rose agrees,” Dirk said, beeping one final message. “She also told me to stop writing her without a reason, because she is not my gossip buddy, and she needs to get back to her therapist duties. So, I’m back with you two.”

“Splendid!” Jake moved and patted a place next to him, and was extremely pleased when Dirk sat at that exact spot, with their shoulders touching.

Jade sighed. “Good for her… It’s kind of sad how I abandoned my duties as a botanist lately.”

“Look on the bright side!” Jake said and detached the capsule from the arrow, putting it in his pocket carefully. It joined the neatly folded photo, as well as an unwrapped chocolate bar and some trash he was meaning to throw away. Jake made a mental note to clean it up later. “Instead you get to learn some new skills, like archery!”

His courage fizzled out when an arrow spectacularly missed its target once more.

“You can’t learn archery with this bow,” Dirk said. “It’s completely off-balance, the real bows are a lot tighter and harder to bend, which aids a better aiming. If you want to get serious about archery, you shout visit Equius’s shooting range, he has the vastest collection of bows and arrows in Avis, and most likely in the entire Empire. You probably think I’m exaggerating for comedic effect, but there’re literally _stacks_ of bows in our basement.”

“Do I hear an invitation to stay at your place?” Jake smiled.

“I don’t see why not,” Dirk said, and his face darkened. “I don’t have a lot of space though, I’m not sure we can crumple three people and a dog in the attic.”

“But we’ve seen your house, its huge, don’t you have guest rooms?” Jade asked.

“There are three rooms in our– in the workshop, Equius’s and Nepeta’s bedrooms and a kitchen, the rest is storage for spare parts. Although it’s still not enough, I reckon one day Equius is going to convert the entire building into one big storage room and move out to live in a tent outside, leaving his precious equipment under protection of the roof. Anyway, unless you want to sleep on nails...”

Jake waved his hand. “Details, it doesn’t matter.”

Why should he care about sleeping arrangements if it meant looking at Dirk’s room. Everyone knew that a room tells the most about someone’s personality, and learning more about Dirk’s personality was in Jake’s top priority list.

“So you don’t want to go home anymore?” Jade threw in a snarky remark.

“Of course I do!” Jake said quickly. “It’ll just be interested to see Dirk’s home, that’s all. And you’ll teach me archery,” he smiled at Dirk, thinking how incredibly romantic spending hours in close proximity could be. Too bad Equius and Nepeta weren't his parents; after all, meeting the family was on the list of ‘Things Couples Should Do’ as well. “And as a token of gratitude, I can show you a couple of rootin’ tootin’ firearms tricks.”

“Alright, it’s a deal,” Dirk said with a hint of a smile – and Jake knew he'd never get enough of seeing his face freely.

“Oh, and Jade and Bec can do something too,” Jake remembered suddenly. “Like... Looking at plants? She found an interesting flower or something last time in Avis.”

“Thank you, brother, you are so considerate,” Jade breathed out with palms pressed to her chest. “I’m touched.”

“I could offer to teach you right now,” Jake aimed at the dartboard with his pistol, “But...”

“If I see one bullet hole in the dirigible, I am kicking you both out,” Jade deadpanned.

“...Yes, Jade will kill me.”

***

This was a great plan, a perfect plan that even made Jake forget about the locket – after a while he convinced himself that Eridan and Aradia wouldn’t be able to read the spell because it was tampered with. He cared about it only when Dirk and Jade were bringing it up, discussing how else Eridan and Aradia’s reputations could be ruined, and getting Kanaya to pull her governmental strings to throw some accusations on them, but a message from Rose dumped all their plans.

She said that the ring was last spotted in a small village called Tercia. When Jade saw the map, she gasped and shook Jake’s shoulder violently.

“Oh my god, look, it’s right next to Sandford! I am totally going to visit Sandford Science Centre! I don’t have any new material to submit, because my research was kinda put on hold, but it’s worth a try. Maybe this time they’ll decide I’m _old enough_ ,” she grimaced like she was forced to swallow a lemon.

At first, Dirk suggested they split up, with someone hunting Eridan down, and the others searching for the ring, but this was the only thing Jake had a firm negative opinion on.

Just to be sure, they asked Rose if she could see any danger coming from the Breath locket, to which she replied confidently that there wasn’t any (Dirk said that this particular set of dots and dashes was typed with extra confidence). Dirk also said it was kind of suspicious and wondered if Eridan had any plans they didn't know about, to which Rose replied with a big question mark, saying she didn't know any rituals Breath could be used for and didn't have time to do the research at the moment.

Thus, they’ve decided that the locket would wait, in favour of getting the ring before anyone else does – Rose approved and said that she was leaving everything in their hands, because it’s an easy task, and because she had a family gathering to start preparing for – she didn’t elaborate, and Dirk, who was the only one who could use Morse with the same ease as regular words, didn’t pry.

They arrived at Tercia on a warm and pleasant morning, and, of course, because nothing was ever easy, a young woman at the only antique shop in the village said that she sold the rings to someone ages ago.

“Excuse me,” Dirk said. “But did you say rings, plural?”

“Of course,” the woman said. “There’re two! Didn’t you know?”

The trio exchanged worried glances, the question of whether two objects could be a vessel for the same spirit hanging in the air.

The woman squinted at Jake, as if remembering something.

“Have we met before?” She asked.

“My brother is a writer, maybe you’ve seen his picture in a newspaper,” Jade suggested, even though Jake doubted he was famous enough to be printed in a newspaper. Jade was the one most likely to be remembered, her persistence about getting into SSC must have been famous here.

Dirk was already typing away a message for Rose.

“I don’t read newspapers, they’re full of propaganda,” the woman smiled. “Oh, you must be one of those folklore gatherers,” she said with shining eyes of a person who was about to tell their favourite story. “The rings are magical, you know.”

“No way, tell us more!” Jade said with what Jake thought was a very unconvincing impression of a person who knew nothing.

“I got them under very mysterious circumstances…” She said, voice hushed and conspiring. “When I was younger, a man came up to me, gave me these rings, and said they can only be worn by an ideal couple whose love for each other is greater than the whole universe… Of course I believed him and agreed to keep the rings safe,” she gave them a dreamy smile, and Jake completely understood her: if a stranger gave him a pair of magic rings and asked to keep an eye on them in the name of love, he would believe them too.

“Those rings had strange carvings, I asked around, and we all agreed that those were the vows of everlasting love written in an ancient language, too bad we couldn’t read it,” the woman continued, and Jade whispered, “Oh no”.

“So, when I, unfortunately, had to sell them because true love doesn’t pay the bills, I agreed to sell them only to a person who would uphold this sacred promise – a wedding expert here in Sandford, he would certainly find linguists to translate the vows.”

“Who was the expert?” Jake asked with bated breath.

“A shop called Engaging Proposal on Oak Street, would you like me to draw you a map?”

“No, we are good, I know Sandford like a back of my hand,” Jade said. “Hold on, SSC, here comes Jade Harley!”

Sandford has grown and became more beautiful since Jake last saw it three years ago, and even though he left it on bad terms (Jade’s unacceptance in SSC, breaking up with Jane, and leaving her and the Lalondes behind), there was still an ache of nostalgia when he laid his eyes on familiar streets and squares. Besides, Jade loved it and wanted to live here, which meant he had to love it too.

“See that tall old building, Dirk? That’s the Science Centre, it is based in an ancient castle, and I’ve already looked up a couple of houses for rent when I move here,” Jade chattered, and punched Jake’s shoulder in reassurance. “And of course, I will always have an entire floor free for you, brother dear, so you can come visit any time. And you too, Dirk, you’ll always be welcome.”

“You aren’t even accepted yet, and you’ve already picked a house?”

“Wow, way to kill a girl’s dream,” Jade said with an exaggerated gasp. “In any case, I _will_ get into SSC, even if it takes me to perform a miracle. Actually, maybe I’ll start working on it right now, and go ask them if they are ready to open their eyes a little wider, while you go and get the rings.”

She stopped in the middle of a sidewalk and hummed in contemplation, eyeing the towers of the Science Centre.

“Are you dumping all the hard work on us?” Jake frowned.

“Hard? Oh please, I’m making it easier. The owner of the shop is more likely to favour two people instead of three. It’s easier for a couple, or for people who seem like a couple, to convince them to sell those super valuable rings. So yes, it’s a calculated move to benefit the team,” she said with satisfaction.

“Sounds like an excuse to get out of teamwork,” Dirk noted, and Jade winked at him.

“Won’t deny this possibility. Nobody is objecting? Good, see you soon in a couple of hours!” And she flitted away with Bec before Dirk or Jake could say a word.

“That’s my sister,” Jake shrugged helplessly, “So, shall we go ring shopping?”

“More like ring searching, you don’t actually think we will buy them, I hate to imagine how much they cost.”

“Right, right,” Jake said, turning away, fighting the desire to smack his forehead. Only couples say ring shopping, what a great start for a mission, putting a foot in his mouth. He began to wonder if Jade did this on purpose, as his relationship advocate. If that’s the case, he would have to thank her later, because he couldn't imagine a more romantic setup – unless he screwed up and died from embarrassment first.

“Money is not an issue,” he said, and while he couldn’t see Dirk’s face anymore, he knew this was where he would roll his eyes with an implication of ‘You are spending too much money’.

“Of course it isn’t, but we need to be prepared to make up a sob story about how getting those rings was my mother’s dying wish, to mellow the heart of whatever unfortunate shop owner we meet. Or steal them, if needed.”

“I can’t believe my ears, these are the words of the same man who kept saying what we did in Crystal Falls was illegal!”

“This is different, we are working for the benefit of humanity, I am a good thief now.”

“Like Robin Hood.”

“But with a blade,” he smiled, and Jake laughed, laying a hand on his shoulder almost unconsciously.

They entered a shop, and Jake went straight to the display with sparkling gemstones and dim glow of gold.

“It would be nice if that woman gave us a picture of the rings, I don’t know what to look for. I guess we should see if any of these have symbols written on them...”

“I don’t know, Jake, if this guy had them, he would be proud of it and would’ve put them on a separate display,” Dirk said, inspecting the rings closely. “Hey, how about this one, I think it has something written on it?”

“Yes,” Jake squinted. “But I doubt the incantation is _soulmates 4ever_.”

“Looking for rings for your wedding, gentlemen?” The shop owner approached.

“Oh,” Jake felt his cheeks reddening and laughed nervously. “We are not getting married, we are just looki–”

“What are you talking about, darling,” Dirk said firmly, squeezing his hand and stepping on his foot pointedly. “Marriage is nothing to be ashamed about.”

“Of course not, I assure you, you are a lovely couple,” the shop owner smiled politely.

“I’m not ashamed,” Jake said automatically, while his mind digested what Dirk just said. So they were going to pretend to be getting married. Fine, good. No embarrassment at all. He could be a professional spy on a mission to obtain the rings in this situation, easy.

But when he looked at Dirk, the rest of the world seemed to magically disappear, leaving only his small teasing smile and a tilt of the head that said, _Your move_.

Jake's fingers wrapped around Dirk's bony hand tighter, and he took a step closer, tracing the lines of Dirk's lips with his gaze, because this was a natural thing for couples to do.

Warm fuzzy feeling coiled in his chest, as always when thinking about kissing Dirk – and at that moment Jake could hardly think of anything else.

“Well, it seemed like you were a little ashamed, sunshine,” Dirk continued meanwhile. “My heart is shattered into a million pieces. Don’t you love me anymore? All those trees we carved our initials on, all the kisses we shared, don’t they mean anything?”

Dirk sighed dramatically, clearly enjoying playing the part, or maybe trying to rile him up, making everything into a joke. But Jake wasn’t about to be the only one who was being played.

“They must’ve chopped down those trees to make paper for marriage certificates,” he said in an equally dramatic tone. “Alas, my memory grows weak, my sweet pumpkin pie, I don’t remember any of those kisses...”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate...”

Dirk inclined his head, so that there were mere centimetres between the two of them, and Jake’s breath hitched, while he grew gradually hotter. He made sure the smile still tugged his lips, so that it would seem like a big joke, but his heart was pounding in his throat, and his head was full of white noise that left a single coherent thought – what it would be like to press their lips together.

So when Dirk said in a low husky voice, “Would you like to get a reminder?”, Jake couldn’t take it any longer.

He cupped Dirk’s face, running his thumbs under the shades over the cheekbones and, before his brain could produce any objections using stupid things like logical reasoning, kissed him.

And it was so much better than he imagined, because in all his elaborate fantasies he could never conjure how Dirk’s soft sigh would sound, or the way Jake’s body would buzz with joyous warmth as he wrapped his hands tighter around the back of Dirk’s head and brought him closer. Dirk’s hand came to rest on the nape of his neck, sending shivers down his spine, and their lips pressed together even harder, smooth skin sliding in a perfect manner. Jake dug his fingers into Dirk’s hair and tilted his head until their glasses clicked – Jake reached out to push them out of the way, and that was when Dirk pulled away, leaving the spot where his hand was cold, and Jake’s mind screamed with _No no no, that’s not enough_. Jake lowered his hands too, and they just looked at each other for a while, still standing unbelievably close, enough for Jake to admire the way Dirk’s cheeks turned pink and try to catch his eyes through the wall of black.

Belatedly, he realized that maybe he shouldn’t have shown this much enthusiasm for a supposedly fake kiss, and Dirk would sure figure everything out now, of course he would, he was the smartest guy in the world...

The shop owner cleared his throat, and Jake nearly jumped. Right, they came here for the rings.

“We do apologize,” Dirk said, voice hoarse, fixing his shades and turning to the owner, who only shook his head.

“That’s quite alright. I see couples getting lost in excitement of wedding preparations all the time.”

“Anyway,” Dirk paused to change the tone of his voice into something brisker. “We are here to ask about a couple of special rings I heard you have...”

Dirk embarked upon telling a made-up story about rings he allegedly would _love_ to get the copies of for his wedding, and if the owner could be so kind to tell them the name of another wedding shop that bought them, so that they could contact the owner in person, that would be so helpful – and in the meantime Jake tried to calm down the humming of pleasure in his body, and stop feeling the taste of Dirk’s lips on his. Finally, he forced himself to get his head back into the mission by imagining the words _The Fate Of The World_ burning in brightest flames, telling himself that he would have plenty of time to replay every millisecond of it later.

“The shop is called Mint To Be, come on,” Dirk said, folding the map, stuffing his hands into pockets, and walking out of the shop – Jake trailed after him, trying to keep up with his brisk stride.

The silence was suffocating him with its awkwardness, and Dirk was looking straight ahead, his shoulders stiff.

Another belated thought was hope that he didn’t ruin their friendship.

Jake couldn’t take the tension anymore and finally blurted out, “Dirk, I’m so terribly sorry for this balderdash, it was an utterly ridiculous thing to do, I didn’t mean…” He trailed off, not knowing what else to say that wouldn’t sound like a blatant lie.

“You heard the man, it’s quite alright,” Dirk said – a model of calmness, as usual. “After all, it helped our cover story, secret agents must be dying of jealousy strokes all over the Empire right now. The Empress wonders what could've caused the mass genocide, not knowing that it was our perfect act. Jade was right about couples being more welcome in such kind of establishments.”

“Yes, Jade is smart,” Jake replied, wishing she would also gave him advice on what to do when all he could think about was how much he wanted to grab Dirk’s collar, push him against the wall, and kiss him again.

But on the other hand, it was good that Jade wasn’t there to say anything, because her advice would come to _“Just ask him if he liked it”,_ and that’s not something Jake was ready to do.

He looked around in a desperate search of a conversation topic – the boring and bland people of Sandford were crowding the streets, blissfully unaware of the turmoil that was going on inside of him.

“So… How do you like Sandford so far?” He managed to squeeze out.

Dirk shrugged shortly. “It’s alright, but nothing special.”

“Right, yes, good… You’ll grow to like it, I assure you. The people here are really nice.”

Dirk hummed something undefined, and Jake searched for something else to say frantically.

“Uh... Hmmm… Remember how we talked with Rose about her cousin, Roxy? She lives here,” Jake was happy to find an abundant topic to talk about.

“Would you like to meet her later?”

“I don’t think it would be appropriate, we haven’t seen her in ages, and she is probably holding a grunge against me since I used to date her friend, Jane, and we broke up on not very good terms…”

Dirk finally faced him, expression still blank. “Wait, you had a girlfriend?”

“Well, yes, when I used to live in Sandford… But it didn't mean anything, we broke up years ago!” He added quickly.

“You used to live in Sandford,” his tone was flat, like it suddenly explained a lot.

“Yes, haven’t I told you that?”

Dirk shook his head, and his mouth twisted a little – just enough for Jake to know something was off. So Jake continued, trying to sound nonchalant, in order to smooth whatever wrong thing he might have said accidentally. “But only because Jade wanted to work in SSC, we stayed a bit while she was trying to submit her application. It was nice here, but there’s no place like home.”

The worst thing was that he couldn’t understand Dirk’s thoughts. Was he angry because he kissed him? Disappointed? Laughing internally at Jake’s stupidity? Or maybe he didn’t feel anything at all, and Jake was the only one overreacting.

Jake quickened his pace and started humming a random tune, while looking around, pretending to be interested in architecture. This must have been the most unnatural thing a human could do, but Jake didn’t care; he would do anything to be distracted from the awkward tension.

For some reason, not telling Dirk about Sandford and Jane seemed like a wrong thing to do, even though Jake couldn’t explain why he felt like Dirk was offended by this; but this simply didn’t come up in earlier conversations, and now it was too late.

They reached Mint To Be without uttering another word. The owner apologized for not having the rings and sent them to Made Of Honour, Made Of Honour sent them to Engagement Bling, which in return pointed to Wife Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries.

Everywhere they went the shop owners assumed they were a couple; what a strange couple they might have seemed – avoiding eye contact with each other, barely saying a word, and carefully not touching.

“Just how many wedding shops does this town have,” Jake laughed nervously, after they exited the fifth store.

“A lot more than it needs,” Dirk said, looking at the picture of the rings of the owner of Wife Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries gave them as an apology for having an inappropriate name. ‘All of the other marriage puns were taken by my competitors, so I really had to scramble,’ she said, signing miserably.

“I wonder if we should send this to Rose for deciphering,” Dirk added, frowning at the photo.

Jake envied him, he wished he could be preoccupied with caring about ciphers too.

Luckily, Jade chose this exact moment to catch up with them.

“Too young and too inexperienced!” She said, fuming, without preludes. Even Bec looked distressed. “And when I said I knew some things about combining certain plants for a magical effect, you know what they said?”

“Suggested you check into a hospital and remember any recent concussions?” Dirk prompted.

“Yes!! Well, it was meaner,” she sighed. “I guess it was my fault too, the word ‘potion’ for them is like a red rug for a bull. They didn’t even want to listen.”

“Sorry,” Dirk and Jake replied in unison, and looked at each other – Dirk smiled a little, and Jake blushed furiously.

Jade waved her hand with an air of surrendering to her fate. “It’s fine. I just hope you made more progress than me.”

Dirk showed her the picture, and Jade nodded, inspecting the delicate symbols carved into two bands, forming a beautiful ornament.

“Alright, let’s go to our next destination!”

In Lovely Pear the woman looked between all four of them slowly, and Jade stepped to the side quickly, whistling a carefree tune.

“Do you have these rings?” Dirk asked, showing her the picture.

“I’m sorry, I’ve already sold them,” the woman said, and Jake sighed; it was the same reply they’ve heard everywhere.

“Fine, what store did you sell it to?”

The woman smiled. “Oh, I didn’t sell them to a store, I sold them to a person organizing a wedding! Can you believe it, rings with such a history will finally be on someone’s fingers–”

“Wait,” Jake interrupted, “Who did you sell it to?”

The woman looked through her records. “Someone called Ruth Lalonde, but I think she said she was buying them for her daughter.”

Jake looked at Jade in shock. “Oh my god, Roxy!”

Jade’s eyes widened. “What if she decides to read the incantation...”

“She will, she used to love all the legends and vows,” Jake said in a panicky tone. “She is Rose’s cousin, remember.”

Jade leaned towards the shop owner, slapping her hands on the counter and looking at her intently. “Do you know when’s the wedding?”

“Hmm, I believe it’s on August the 12th...” She glanced at the calendar. “Oh, it means it's-”

“Today!!” Jake exclaimed, feeling colder with every second. “What time?”

“Sometime at two in the afternoon?”

“Two in the afternoon?! It’s already 14:05, shit!” Jade was practically screaming. “Where?!”

“In the town hall,” the woman said, peering at them with a spark of curiosity, but they’ve took off before she finished the sentence.

 _Please let us not be late, please let us not be late,_ Jake was chanting internally as they’ve reached the building in the central square, decorated with white flowers for the celebration.

The windows were open, and words of a person conducting the ceremony sounded loud and clear.

“The words you have just spoken to each other came deep from within your hearts, and now you will take the rings that are another sign of your love and commitment to–“

Jake kicked the door open, and it bounced off the wall with a thundering _BANG_.

“Stop, don’t do it!” He doubled over, pressing his hands on his knees to catch a breath, and when he finally raised his head, he saw Roxy in a neatly tailored white dress standing next to Jane dressed in kind.

“Jake?!” They both asked in unison, starting at him like he was a ghost.

It took him a moment to realize that they were holding hands, a velvet pillow with two golden rings was lying on the pedestal – and yes, they were, in fact, both brides.

“Oh my god,” Jade whispered behind him. “Roxy is marrying Jane!”

“Is Jane the one with the glasses?” Dirk asked in the same tone.

“Yes,” Jade replied.

The whole crowd, at least fifty people, was looking at them, and Jane’s surprised expression was slowly turning into an infuriated one, and Jake had better explain something quick.

“Hi, Jane, Roxy, sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But you can’t get married with those rings.”

“Excuse me?!” Jane’s voice was menacing. “How _dare_ you barge in just like this and tell us we can’t get married?”

If looks could kill, Jake would be a pile of smoking ash by now – and she must have studied that look in the last three years, because he couldn’t remember ever her looking this angry.

“That’s not what I said, those rings are dangerous, and if you put them on your fingers, we’ll all be in jeopardy,” he tried to explain peacefully.

A whole bundle of emotions, ranging from fury to surprise to pain, rushed in Jane’s features.

“Ha!” She finally managed to say, pressing her trembling lips into a thin line. “If this is your idea of a prank, it’s not even remotely funny! You don’t have any right to tell me what to do, to just appear out of nowhere after three years, and...” She trailed off, and Roxy hugged her with one arm, saying something comforting, looking at Jake like she was planning to murder him. “I don’t know what game you are playing, Jake English, but I get it, you picked this day so that you can ruin my life once more...” She tugged the lacy sleeves of her dress with shaking fingers. “I don’t even know what I did to make you hate me like this, but please, just leave me alone, at least for today!”

Her voice cracked like she was about to cry, and Jake stared at her, suddenly afraid and shocked by such a violent reaction, so unusual for Jane’s calm and rational self.

Sure, his and Jane’s relationship ended on an awkward note, but he has never imagined it would cause her to act like this.

“Of course I don’t hate you,” Jake reassured her quickly. “It has nothing to do with you, all we need is the rings, that’s all!”

“Oh, of course it has nothing to do with me – for you, nothing has _ever_ had anything to do with me! I’ve spent too much time forgetting you, and I bet you find it hilarious to wait for the day of our wedding to make your grand reappearance...”

Jane pressed a hand over her mouth, and Roxy levelled him with a stern stare, her tone icy in a way he has never associated with her. “If there were any lines, you’ve crossed them all. You need to leave, now. Jade, sorry about this, it’s not your fault your brother is a dick.”

“I didn’t _wait_ for this day, it’s just a coincidence!” Jake flailed his hands desperately. “Look, Jane, I’m sorry for what happened when we last saw each other, but we are on a completely different mission right now–“

“ _The least_ you could do was break up with me properly, or did you really think that saying ‘My sister didn’t get the job, I’m leaving now, goodbye, see you in ten years maybe if she gets accepted after all’ is enough?!” Jane shrieked.

The guests watched them, murmuring, their tones accusing and displeased. Jake noticed Roxy’s mother and Jane’s father rising from the front rows and moving towards them.

Jake tried to find a way to explain himself, to fix his mistakes; but all the words seemed to leave him, and there was nothing left to say.

Dirk moved past him, squeezing his shoulder gently in a reassuring gesture. “Hello, Jane and Roxy, sorry to cut into your drama, but let me say a few words as an outsider whom you don’t know. Since the rings you are in possession of are a risk to humankind, we can’t leave without them, so here is the solution I’m seeing: you give us the rings and continue with your ceremony as if nothing happened, we either pay you or provide a substitute, and we all go separate ways, how does that sound?”

Jane’s expression told exactly what she thought of Dirk’s plan, but before she could verbalize her thoughts, another voice interrupted.

“You have to listen to them, Roxy, Jane, they are telling the truth.”

Jake turned and saw Rose and Kanaya standing in the doorway, dressed in their finest gowns.

Rose stared directly at Roxy, while Kanaya inspected the interior design with mild curiosity.

“Hello, sorry we are late,” Kanaya said. “Once we arrived here, Rose decided to check the leads after all, after learning there are two rings instead of one, and we have practically retraced your steps. Also, once we figured they’d read the incantations, we’ve put the binding circle around the hall.”

“Have they?” Rose asked, and Jade nodded.

“Oh my god, Rose, you are on their side too, how could you?” Roxy asked desperately.

“Alright, I’ve had enough!” Jane said, her voice cracking, and grabbed both rings. “I don’t understand a word in nonsense you are saying, you can bring the entire Imperial Army if you want, but I won’t allow any of you to hurt me anymore, and you are certainly not going to ruin this day! Roxy, take it,” she pushed a ring into Roxy’s open hand.

Jake darted to her, but Jane’s father grabbed him before he could knock the ring out, and even though Jake could easily escape his clutches with a single punch, he didn’t want to hurt him and make the situation worse.

“I’m serious, I know it’s going to sound crazy, but there’s an evil spirit trapped inside both rings, and–“

“Actually there are two separate spirits. Something really powerful is needed in order to split a spirit into parts,” Rose said. “But he is right, drop it if you want to live.”

“Nobody threatens my family,” Roxy’s mother said, towering next to her in a menacing manner.

“But I am your family too, Aunt Ruth,” Rose said, exasperated. “Just trust me on this.”

“Trust _you_ –” She began, but suddenly Jane gasped, and their attention snapped back to the couple, who used their distraction as an opportunity to put the rings on, and now watched in horror as thin lines were spreading from their fingers, covering the skin with a web.

Jane’s father, shocked and holding his breath, weakened his grip, and Jake rushed towards Jane to try and pull the ring off, but it was already merged with her glowing green skin.

“Rose, can you do something?!” He shouted and tried to pull the ring off Roxy’s hand, that turned dark blue, but with no avail.

“It’s too late to do anything, prepare to fight,” Rose said, appearing on his side with the others. “Why couldn’t you break up with Jane like a normal, civilized person?”

“Hey, don’t accuse him,” Jade said, but her protest wasn’t convincing; and with heart pounding in his chest, Jake had to step back from the glowing silhouettes.

Rose sighed and turned to the crowd. “Everyone, listen to me. Stay calm and calmly run away.”

The people didn’t need a prompt for that and rushed away from the transforming figures, but as soon as the first person reached the door, it shut on its own accord before they could escape, and so did the windows; the lights went out, leaving them without a source of natural light.

“Witchcraft!” Someone squealed.

Jake backed off, making sure Dirk and Jade stood close by his side.

“You,” Jane, or the spirit possessing her, pointed its finger at Jake. He gulped and watched the glowing silhouette move, leaving traces of green particles in the air: it would be beautiful if it wasn’t scary. He put a hand on the handle of a pistol, Dirk and Jade stepped forward, and Dirk took out his sword, putting it in front of Jake like a shield.

“Don’t worry,” Rose said. “The spirit of Life can’t take life… At least for now. It’s Void you should worry about.”

She pointed at Roxy’s silhouette, who blended into darkness like she was a part of it, and dissolved without a sound as soon as their gazes landed on her.

“When I arrived here I realized that the second ring is actually a ring of Void,” Rose continued nonchalantly, as if a spirit possessing her cousin hasn’t just teleported god knows where. “I should have figured it out earlier, shame on me, but in my excuse I was nose deep in wedding preparations and choosing a perfect gift.”

“Oh really, what did you get?” Jade asked.

“A knitting kit,” Kanaya managed to sound as laid back as Rose.

“Jane, can you understand us?” Jake asked helplessly, still hoping she could break free, despite every single possessed person they met unable to. “It’s your wedding, remember?”

“Spirits have no concept of marriage,” the spirit said with Jane’s voice. “Also, you are the worst person to ever exist, so you’d better think twice before saying anything to me.”

She sprouted out two more arms which had stems coiled around them; but a second after they unfurled and rose above her head, Dirk’s sword swooshed and cut them off, and they plopped down on the floor with a wet sound.

Jake gasped and wanted to say something about hurting Jane, but the spirit looked at its fallen limbs that started quivering like rapidly drying leaves, and sprouted out new ones immediately.

“You shouldn’t worry about hurting her,” Rose said, as if reading his thoughts. “Not only it is impossible, but the spirit will also heal all the injuries and illnesses if she had any, am I correct to assume this?”

“Correct,” the spirit bowed its head. “Human bodies need to be strengthened in order to carry something as powerful as us. For example, this body used to have several imperfections, namely damaged organic tissue. All spirits heal, but I, Life, am simply the best there is, unfortunately. One day the time will come, and I will heal this realm of the humanity that plagues it–”

Void materialized next to it. “Everything is sealed off.”

“Apparently, not today... But never worry, you may have the upper hand in this,” she sprouted out a fifth hand, and a thin stem hit Jake right in the chest, masterfully dodging Dirk’s blade, “but the balance is tipping in our favour,” Life snapped its fingers. “Void, get rid of them.”

Void dissolved into darkness, and darkness wrapped around them, Rose shouted, “Everyone, grab onto each other!”, and Jake wrapped his arms around Dirk and Jade, and felt them doing the same – but nothing happened, except for the voices of other people dying out and all light disappearing completely.

“Don’t let go yet, we can’t get separated,” Rose said, quiet and cautious.

Jake tightened his grip. Breathing and rustling of clothes was awfully loud in complete silence of this strange place where nothing existed.

The place where the stem hit him didn’t feel any different, so when Dirk asked whether he was okay (in a regular voice, without any trace of being uncomfortable about _certain things_ that happened earlier), Jake said, “I’m fine.”

“Care to explain what’s going on?” Jade asked.

“Void can’t transport us anywhere, it’s not within its powers, so it creates a new realm of illusions. It can’t break physical contact, but it can put illusionary barriers between people – that’s how we got separated from the others, and that’s why we can’t let go until the world around us settles, unless you want to find a way out of it on your own.”

Jake risked taking his hand off Jade and reached out into darkness, not expecting to sense anything – but suddenly darkness under his fingers bloomed with colours that spread all over the space like an explosion of paint, and subsided, forming a maze.

“Void creates space, and Life fills it with images,” Rose said, inspecting the maze made of bushes that didn’t exist on Earth. “It seems this realm is connected to you, Jake. Makes sense, seeing how Jane’s emotions were connected to you as well. By the way, this is a situation in need of an intervention, don’t you agree?”

“Absolutely,” Kanaya added. “We are open for a discussion for as long as we are here, which is an undetermined amount of time.”

“You can start by telling us what exactly happened between you and Jane Crocker. The more detailed your narrative is, the deeper analysis we will be able to provide.”

“Don’t you have better things to do, like making up a spell to get us out?” Dirk asked.

“Yeah, Rose, he's an adult, let him sort it out on his own,” Jade said, and Jake felt a rush of gratitude towards both of them – he would prefer to settle everything with Jane and Roxy in private, without presenting it for inspection under a microscope.

“Or course, if you don’t apologise to her, I will kick your butt,” Jade continued.

“I will, I swear on my honour! I just didn’t know she was this angry with me”.

Jake could only hope she would listen to him, even though, judging by Jane’s reaction, the possibility was unlikely. Not that he could blame her; he didn’t think about their time in Sandford much, disregarding it is merely an unsuccessful episode on his life, but now that he caught a glimpse of Jane’s side of the story, it made him feel like the worst person on Earth.

But, like it's already been said, there were no unfixable situations. He wasn't alone in this – they would find a way to defeat Life and Void in the name of apologizing to Jane.

He looked around the maze – the bushes were all shades of bright greens, blues, and pinks, reminding him of the colourful descriptions he used in his stories, but the sky looked like a bad photograph, blurred and pale.

“So what are we going to do here, search for an exit?” Jake asked.

“I don’t think there is one,” Rose answered. “Since we are inside Void’s illusions, I doubt it would create an exit for us, meaning we should look for its core.”

“So we are inside of Roxy?” Jade snorted.

“We are inside _Void_ ,” Rose said, exasperated. “And the faster we find the core, the better, I am worried about what Life may be up to, beside creating this world.”

“But the circle will bind it, right?” Kanaya asked.

“This won’t stop it from doing things inside the circle. Alright, let’s go this way,” she pointed in a random direction. “If every turn we take will be to the left, we are bound to find the centre eventually...”

“Or we can just climb up the maze and look where the centre is,” Jake said; in his opinion it was the easiest solution.

Rose snapped her mouth shut, and Jake put his plan into action without waiting for her to think of a clever retort, using thick stems as steps. He saw a dim light a couple of kilometres away immediately (did Void’s illusions also expand space?...), and took out the journal, opening a page free of Wondrous Adventures drafts, and did a quick sketch of what he saw so that they could use it as a map.

“Huh, it really was designed for your mind,” Rose mused.

Jake jumped down. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “Well, Life was focused on you and touched you, which means when choosing what to give life to, it probably picked imagery from your mind.”

Jake stared at the journal in his hands, and suddenly a brilliant idea came to him.

“What if Void replicates the Wondrous Adventures!” He showed them the journal, monitoring Dirk’s reaction out of the corner of his eye, hoping he would be impressed; after all, it was the second smart idea Jake had today. Unfortunately, his face was expressionless as usual when he had the shades on – and right now Jake really wanted to be back in the dirigible and see this warm gaze again. Lately, he found himself being torn between wanting to see it all the time and realization that the fact that Dirk chose not to wear his shades on the dirigible anymore made Jake (and Jade, and Bec, but mostly Jake) unique.

Rose snatched the journal out of his hand.

Jade didn’t even bother to cover her laughter with a coughing fit.

“Hey, give it back!” He reached out, but it was too late – she was already flipping through the pages with her hand in a lace glove.

“What is it, you drafts?”

“Yes,” he managed to rip it out of her hands. “And as a person whose aunt is a writer, you should know that it’s rude to read other person’s writing without their permission!”

“I’ve read and critiqued Aunt Ruth’s drafts since I was five.”

Kanaya put a hand around her shoulders. “It must be why you are not on good terms with your relatives, dear.”

“Mostly it’s because they thought my interest in dark magic was creepy for some reason, and they were afraid I was going to curse them in their sleep, but it certainly was a contributing factor. Anyway, the point is: give me the journal, English, whatever is written there will appear in these illusions, and we need to be prepared.”

Motivated with saving the world (well, the world wasn’t in danger right now... saving _something_ ) Jake passed her the journal, hesitating in the last moment.

“It’s a work in progress, there is a lot of scenes I haven’t written yet, and the pacing might seem spastic because of it, and some lines are out of order–“

Rose grabbed the journal. “If I wanted to hear modest babbling, I’d go to a church. Do you have an editor?”

“No.”

“It was a rhetorical question, it’s obvious that you don’t.”

She busied herself with reading, with Kanaya peeking over her shoulder, and Jade asked, “So Jake’s stories will be our illusions? That’s good.”

“I know, because I am the author,” Jake said; today definitely was his lucky day. If only Rose wasn’t in such a bad mood – although it was understandable, after all, Roxy was her cousin.

“Well, yes, this too, but also because your stories are, well… Not serious. In a good way though! In a good, we-will-survive-today, way.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your stories don’t hold much danger or surprises… They are a tiniest bit unrealistic.”

“But I thought you liked them!”

“Of course I do,” Jade made a helpless gesture, and Jake turned to Dirk for support automatically.

“I’ve already told you, your style is enjoyable,” his tone was calm and matter-of-fact, as if nothing happened between them, and Jake welcomed this attitude of ignoring – it was a familiar manoeuvre he preferred using too.

“I wasn’t expecting you to have a fine taste in literature anyway, Strider,” Rose gave the journal back – she must have been a super-fast reader, because the journal had a good hundred pages, covering the events that happened in Rima with Vriska, Light, and Rage, and a detailed description of ten days of travelling to Halitus.

“Expect to see many weird creatures that didn’t exist in reality,” Rose continued.

“I was merely exaggerating for dramatic effect,” Jake protested.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter, Rose,” Jade said. “We are written as the winners in all those situations, aren’t we? And as much better fighters than we really are.”

“That’s another problem. It doesn’t mean our own abilities will be altered, instead we will meet copies of ourselves with better abilities, fuelled with Life’s murderous desires.”

Jake could barely contain a smile, clones sounded exciting, even more than his creations being brought to life.

“I can take myself out, no matter how enhanced,” Dirk shrugged. “How exactly do you kill an illusion?”

“We’ll just have to meet one and see,” Rose replied. “In the meantime, I will see if I can conjure any spells.”

She pulled a thick book out of the dress folds.

“Do you always bring spellbooks along?”

“She does now,” Kanaya said, looking at her with adoration.

Thus, their procession looked like this: Bec running in front and sniffing everything cautiously, followed by Jake, Dirk, and Jade, and then Rose with her nose stuck in the spellbook, guided by Kanaya, who made sure she wouldn’t bump into anything.

“So, I remember the giant spiders from your interpretation of the Vriska story, what else should we expect to see?” Dirk asked.

In answer to his question a basilisk slid out of a maze wall and stomped its gigantic legs, making the ground shake. It towered over them, three times bigger than the one they saw on Halitus, with larger teeth, two extra pairs of disfigured eyes, and blood dripping out of its open mouth. It was a horrifying image – exactly how Jake described it.

“Why couldn’t you write that we met a tiny basilisk, ten centimetres long?” Jade hissed, loading her rifle.

“Then you would be complaining about how boring my stories are,” Jake replied, doing the same with the pistols and shooting the monster in the eye, while Jade aimed for the neck, Bec attacked its tail, and Dirk sliced one of its legs in half.

Despite all of their attacks hitting home, and the basilisk wailing in pain, there was no liquid pouring out of its body, and the leg that was cut off disappeared with a puff of smoke instead.

“Hey, Rose, jump in any time!” Jade said, dodging the monster’s tail that almost knocked her out, while Rose seemed to be in awe with both the basilisk and the way illusions worked.

“What do you want me to do, attack it with knitting needles? No thanks, I’m busy,” she said finally and returned to her book.

“Kanaya, you? Jake will give you one of his guns.”

Kanaya, who was on guard near Rose, making sure nothing hit her, said, “Alright.”

Obediently, Jake handed Kanaya one of the pistols, which she accepted with a bit of hesitation.

She held out her hand and shot at the basilisk blindly – it was a bad shot of an inexperienced person, but thankfully, it was hard to miss the basilisk’s giant body.

“That was good,” Kanaya said, cracking one eye open and observing the small hole in thick black skin.

“I know, guns are awesome,” Jake replied proudly, and Dirk hummed.

However, it was _far_ too gigantic to be bothered by the bullets, even with the combined forces of Jake, Jade, and Kanaya.

Meanwhile, Dirk sliced one more leg off, and Bec sunk his teeth into the another – the basilisk’s head outweighed and came crushing down, where it was met with Dirk’s sword, that he sank deeply into the monster’s eye – it let out one final wail and disappeared, leaving only a cloud of smoke.

Dirk looked his crystal clean sword over, and said, “Guns may be awesome, but blades get the job done. And teeth,” he glanced at Becquerel, and Jake was sure that if he wasn’t a dog, they would high-five each other.

“Guns have many amazing features,” Jake protested, offended on behalf of his favourite weapon. “Covering a large distance, for instance.”

“Also lethality,” Dirk raised one eyebrow, and Jake pursed his lips – because it has hit the most painful spot he had about firearms.

He has always loved guns, but the latest events has made him realize that he loved them more as a concept; he couldn’t imaging legitimately killing, he always hesitated to pull the trigger to hurt someone even in self-defence. It was so fun when he and Jade were taught by their grandparents to shoot targets drawn on trees, but reality was oh so different.

“Guns are still better,” Jake said, continuing the argument out of pure stubbornness. “You are simply jealous that you don’t know how to use one.”

“Well, you don’t know how to use a blade, so we are even here.”

“It’s not like it’s hard,” Jake said, and Dirk’s eyebrow shot up immediately.

“Oh really? I bet you won’t last a minute with my katana, even against an illusion.”

“Did someone say bet?” Jade appeared by his side. “I love bets, especially if I’m the judge.”

Dirk smirked and held out his sword.

Jake blinked. “Are you serious?”

“Sure, we are not in much danger right now, besides, you promised you’ll teach me to shoot.”

Jake’s fingers wrapped around the sword’s handle that still held warmth from Dirk’s hand – and for some reason it seemed like a very intimate moment, almost like a kiss.

For the first time Jake inspected Dirk’s sword up close – it was heavy and obviously old, and apparently has been repainted several times, judging by chipped condition of the handle. However, the metal of the blade was clean and shining.

Suddenly, Jade shot at something at the distance, and Bec galloped to attack something hiding in the next turn of the maze.

“While boys are talking, Jade does all the job, as usual,” Jade sighed in a mocking manner, and they saw that her target was an imp.

“Well, at least you’ve described the imp correctly,” she said. “They look exactly the same.”

“That’s because they are real,” Rose said.

Dirk aimed at another imp sitting on the top of the wall with Jake’s gun, and Jake wasn’t on time to explain him how to aim correctly, that’s why he missed and cursed under his breath; the imp shrieked and ran away.

“You see,” Rose continued, “right now this is the place with the densest concentration of magic in the entire world, obviously it will produce many imps and other underlings. Don’t you feel it, the air humming with power nobody in this and many preceding generations has ever witnessed before?”

Rose looked around them in awe, and maybe it was wishful thinking, but Jake could imagine feeling it, the energy lacing the illusionary space that could almost be touched. He reached out and swept his free hand through the air, and his fingertips prickled like there were tiny invisible sparks settling on them.

“Yes, I see it,” Jade whispered with a reverent expression, and even Bec seemed to be affected by Rose’s words.

Dirk and Kanaya exchanged confused looks.

“Actually...” Rose mused and opened a different page in her spellbook. “I want to try this. _Novus Ardustria_ ,” she said, and made a flicking motion with her hand –

– and a tiny ball of fire appeared in her open palm, illuminating her and Kanaya’s shocked faces.

“Oh my god,” Kanaya whispered, and Jade screamed at the same time, “It’s magic, it’s real magic!!”

This was the moment when it hit Jake finally and irrevocably, like a freight train hits a pedestrian: they were living in a world of magic.

“Can I try it too?” He asked, already taking the book from Rose’s hands.

When the fire flickered for the first time after he uttered the spell, he was so shocked, he lost concentration, and it went out immediately. But when he resumed it, focusing the magic energy he felt around them on his hand, it basked him with the warm glow that seemed to come from inside of his soul. Jade looked at him with an expression usually reserved for dogs and obscure plants she found, and the light reflected off Dirk’s shades in a beautiful way.

It was as if something like a deeply buried memory was awakening within him.

Jade tried another simple spell from Rose’s book, and swirls of wind rose above his head; but no matter how many times Dirk and Kanaya tried, they could do nothing.

“You shouldn’t be too disappointed,” Rose said, placing a comforting hand on Kanaya’s waist; she managed to produce a hint of a spark that went out the moment it appeared. “You didn’t have any training, and there’s not enough magic in this realm so far. Besides, some people are more predisposed to magic than the others.”

“So what do you reckon, it’s hereditary?” Dirk asked, sounding a little down.

“Must be, but not with blood and genome like other traits, magic is a part of a person’s soul passed from ancestors to descendants.”

“Like reincarnation?” Jade asked.

Rose nodded. “That’s what the Tentacle Therapist believed in. It's a recent discovery made by my predecessor. It was previously believed that a soul is a compilation of different pieces of personalities of your ancestors, but the old witch did her research and found out that a soul is but a source of energy that is passed through generations, coloured by personality the bearer obtains over the course of their growth. Magic has a lot of ties with psychology,” she finished proudly.

Another couple of imps galloped past them, and Jake swung Dirk’s sword at them – but just like Dirk, he couldn’t get a hold of a new weapon and missed, instead allowing Jade to finish them off.

“Please don’t use my katana like you are about to cut tomatoes,” Dirk winced.

“Don’t hold my gun like a water pistol,” Jake countered, and couldn’t help but grin at him – they were still friends, nothing was ruined.

Suddenly they heard a soft melody, like from a music box, and Jake recognized it immediately: the melody that played in the amusement park during his and Dirk’s “date”.

Rose turned to the right on the next crossroads of the maze, but Jake pointed out, “The centre is another way.”

Rose hesitated for a moment, but still went towards the music. “We can afford a detour, Roxy and Jane will be fine. I mean… don’t you want to stay here a little longer?”

She spread her arms and spun round, making her silk lacy dress flap around her ankles.

Jake was a little concerned about her priorities, but he couldn’t deny wanting to stay here as well, knowing that once they leave this illusionary realm they wouldn’t be able to perform magic again.

Everyone followed her, and Jake lit up the fire in his hand again, just to enjoy his ability to do so. He wondered briefly whom he inherited magic talent from; certainly someone from their grandparents’ side, they would be great magicians if they were alive at the moment.

The narrow paths of the maze widened, and they saw a quite large square with a replica of the part of the amusement park that was integrated with the rest of the maze, like somebody overlapped two pictures, blurring the edges.

The carousels were spinning, playing music box versions of the songs they owned records of; the restaurant they met Aradia and Eridan in was cut in half, leaving only the patio. Weirdly enough, all the tables were turned to the side, forming a circle. Jake kept his eyes trained for any imps or illusions, but forgot about them the moment Dirk turned to him and asked, “Are you planning on showing me firearms techniques so that I don’t hold your gun like a _water pistol_? There’s no better way of learning than on a battlefield.”

Jake stared at him for a few moments, trying to process the implications this request had, and finally nodded.

“Uh, sure,” he said, throat suddenly dry at the prospect of being too close again.

But Dirk was acting like it was an everyday request, and the best Jake could do was follow his lead – in case of emergency (like bringing up the kiss, or being unable to resist certain _urges_ ) he was under the protection of being surrounded by other people.

After only a moment of hesitation, Jake slid one hand on Dirk’s shoulder blades and covered Dirk’s palm that was holding the gun with another, torn between not wanting to be too obvious and relishing the closeness of his body that warmed him more than enchanted fire.

“Well, um,” Jake was at loss for words for a moment. “What you want to do is to level the gun with your eye height,” he guided Dirk’s hand, “choose a target, align the gun so that it would be parallel to the ground, and use your dominant eye to look through the sights…”

Dirk shot a brief glance towards the restaurant and turned back to Jake. “That’s an awful lot of planning.”

Jake watched him, trying not to be distracted from scrambling his thoughts to remember Grandma’s training.

“Yeah, once it gets engraved into your subconsciousness, you start doing this without thinking… Anyway, there are several ways to aim in order to compensate for the inaccuracies and recoil, but for the first try it will be enough to simply align the front sight and the rear sight and place them on the target,” Jake wrapped his fingers around Dirk’s hand and squeezed gently, sliding his fingertips over the scars on his knuckles. “Just keep your hands steady to gain leverage against the recoil… And then you pull the trigger…”

Jake barely saw what they were aiming at, and Dirk didn’t seem particularly interested in looking forward as well, facing Jake instead, and he could imagine leaning forward and pushing his shades back, and kissing him again fiercely; Jade and everyone else be damned…

“Please don’t shoot!” A new voice said, and both of them jerked; Jake dropped his hands immediately, and Dirk lowered the pistol.

“Aunt Ruth?” Rose asked, and they saw a blonde woman peeking from behind one of the tables, along with a man, whom Jake recognized as Mr. Crocker, Jane’s father. His hat was crumpled and he was holding his pipe like it was a weapon.

“Were you… hiding?” Rose squinted at the couple, and Roxy’s mother scoffed.

“Yes, what did you expect us to do? There were goblins everywhere!”

“Why didn’t you come out when you saw us?”

“We weren’t sure it was really you,” Mr. Crocker said. “Your copy almost shot us!”

He pointed an accusing finger at Jade.

“My copy?!”

“He means an illusion,” Rose said.

“Is anybody going to explain what’s going on, where is my daughter, and where are we?” Mrs. Lalonde’s voice was loud and demanding.

“Roxy and Jane aren’t in any danger,” Rose reassured, and her expression became a little smug. “We are currently in an illusionary space created by the spirit of Void; but don’t worry, Aunt Ruth, magic doesn’t exist,” she flipped her hair in a smooth gesture and sent her a look from under her eyelashes.

Kanaya didn’t even try to conceal her smirk, and Jake sent Dirk a quick smile – he was glad Rose could wipe her seemingly ignorant relative’s eye.

When asked if they saw anyone else here, Mr. Crocker shook his head.

“No real people, just illusions, like you said. It was obvious something was wrong with them, they didn’t talk and moved like puppets,” he shivered and stuck the pipe between his lips again. Rose conjured a tiny spark that flew out of her fingertips, landing in the pipe and lighting it, and Mr. Crocker choked on smoke, coughing and looking at her with a completely bewildered expression.

“There’s two of them!” Mrs. Lalonde shouted suddenly, pointing at the carousels.

Everyone turned around to see the copies of Vriska standing with unnatural, vacant faces; both were wobbling, as if the illusion wasn’t complete yet.

Jade cocked her rifle, and Jake’s fingers twitched automatically, only to remember that he had no trigger to put them on; Kanaya took aim instead and within a second both figures disappeared in smoke after being hit by bullets.

Jake didn’t have time to comment, because he felt a cold breeze, turned round, and saw Eridan materializing from thin air – and he sank Dirk’s sword right into his chest, watching the way he fell apart into puffs of smoke with grim satisfaction.

“Nice one,” Dirk nodded his approval, and Jake grinned.

Their group, now two people bigger, inspected the park and shot some more imps, but didn’t seem to find more characters brought to life, so they left the place, where the music box seemed to be stuck on a single melody.

Rose’s spellbook was passed through everyone’s hands, with everyone trying new spells. However, they could do only simple things focused in their palms, like sparks, and swirls, and waves of cold. Even though they walked among the spirits, the spirit realm was still sealed off and didn’t provide with enough energy.

The maze blended with another piece of scenery, this time it was a part of John’s palace with walls made of solid gold; the amount of diamonds shining in them was definitely exceeding the one existing on Earth.

And that’s where they met what Jake was both eager and dreading to see – multiple copies of themselves.

At first he feared that the way his imagination portrayed Dirk would make everything obvious, like maybe he would be shirtless and drape himself over Jake instantly – that would be something even Jake's imagination wouldn't be able to make up an excuse for. But thankfully, neither him, nor fake Jake, Jade, and Bec had any differences in appearance beside the same inhuman blank expression.

However, unlike the ones they saw before, these illusions seemed to be more corporeal and didn’t waste time before lashing out to attack the group.

Mrs. Lalonde screamed and ducked when a bullet from illusionary Jake’s gun almost hit her; Dirk and Jake exchanged quick glances of mutual understanding that shit just got real and swapped their weapons.

Dirk’s blade collided with his double’s immediately, and Jake picked the target closest to him – Jade, who dodged his shot by dropping on the ground, rolling, and aiming at the real Jade, who was protected by Bec who tugged her to the side.

“Crap,” Dirk muttered when his double masterfully dodged every single one of his attacks and nearly sliced his stomach open.

“Sorry,” Jake said, pointing a gun at the fake Dirk. “I may have written you a tiny bit overpowered.”

“No shit,” Dirk said when his double caught the bullet with two fingers and squashed it like a bug.

Kanaya looked between all of them frantically, unable to choose a target in fear of accidentally hitting a real person.

“Please, next time keep to our real powers,” Jade groaned, struggling to get out of the tight grip of one of her copies, who abandoned her rifle and was choking Jade with her bare hands. Jake shot her in the head immediately, cringing slightly, and Jade waved the smoke away.

“Thanks, bro! It’s a pity I wasn’t the one who killed it, it would be so Freudian.”

“It would be Freudian if you killed your parents,” Rose intervened, and hit both of Bec’s copies with the heavy spellbook, preventing them from attacking Mrs. Lalonde.

“Can’t you just cast a spell on them?!” She shrieked hysterically, and Rose glared.

She opened her mouth to retort, but Jake summoned the enchanted fire again, almost without thinking, throwing it at his copy; it passed through his chest and exploded inside, smoke flying into Jake’s face.

Rose stared at him, the words “I can’t do it” freezing on her lips.

Suddenly a blow from the last illusionary Jake landed right in his temple, and sparks danced under his eyelids. He didn’t realize before how much overpowered he was writing himself to be.

Jake stumbled and couldn’t aim properly, hitting only the illusion’s shoulder; on his left he saw the way Dirk’s copy almost sliced real Dirk’s head off.

His and Dirk’s eyes met, and there was that instant mutual understanding again. Both spun round, sliding back-to-back and facing their opposite opponents instead; it happened so fast they were taken by surprise, and Jake shot the fake Dirk in the forehead, while Dirk plunged the blade into the illusionary Jake’s torso, turning it into smoke.

Jake smiled at Dirk victoriously, and to his right Bec attacked the last of Jade’s copies, Kanaya finally managed to shoot Bec’s copy clumsily, and Jade punched the air in triumph.

“We defeated the evil clones, go us!!”

Mrs. Lalonde gaped at them, clasping her hands tightly.

“No, you didn’t,” Mr. Crocker said. “There’s another one!”

He pointed at a lonely figure with long hair standing in the dark doorway, and Jade squinted.

“Oh come on, I thought we destroyed all of my copies!” She cocked her rifle again, but Jake put his hand of the barrel and stopped her – something seemed off about that illusion, it wasn’t like all the Jades they saw before.

Light from the chandelier shone on the figure, reflecting off the round glasses, and with a painful jolt Jake recognized familiar warm smile that made skin around her eyes crinkle, hair flecked with grey – his grandmother smiled at him for the first time in nine years, and his eyes prickled, and he dared not to blink, afraid she might disappear.

Jade held her breath.

June Harley came closer, and Jake felt rather than saw how Kanaya raised her gun, and Dirk shifted into attack position, and he said, “Please don’t touch her!”

He didn’t care it was an illusion, to see their grandmother walk again was worth whatever damage they would suffer.

Bec growled, but didn’t move.

“Hello, Jake, Jade,” June smiled warmly and spread her welcoming arms just like she did when she used to come home from her trips. “After all these years I can finally see you again...”

“It’s not real, don’t listen to her,” Dirk muttered, putting his hand on Jake’s shoulder – and it jerked him back to unfortunate reality.

But as soon as his mind was grazed with a trace of hesitation, another figure materialized out of thin air – not an illusion, but the spirit of Life with her glowing green skin and serene expression.

“All can be returned,” she addressed Jake in a soothing voice. “I am Life, and this is your world; all your fantasies can become true. The ones you love will love you back; the ones whom you lost will be alive again.”

She conjured another figure that took form of an old man with bushy moustache and wicked glint in his eyes, and one glance at Jade’s quivering lips told him she was a step away from bursting into tears.

Life looked Jake directly in the eyes, and he felt as if she was hypnotizing him, taunting with promises, and hope that died long time ago was ignited again.

“All you have to do is serve me, and you will be reunited with your loved ones,” she was almost whispering, and two more people appeared, a couple that Jake and Jade have only seen on the pictures: a tall bespectacled man with an arm around a young woman’s waist, her blond curly hair framed her head like a cloud.

“Look at you, children, you’ve grown so much,” their father spoke in a deep calming voice, just like Jake always imagined him to sound. “Fighting for the sake of the whole world.”

Their mother smiled, and said, “I’m sorry we couldn’t be with you at your moments of triumph, but I’m so proud of you. So, so proud.”

“But they can be a part of your new world… Would you like that?”

Life extended her hand for a handshake that would seal their deal, and a rational part of Jake, that could never agree to this, seemed to perish; the ring glistened on Life’s finger, and suddenly Rose shouted, “Cut it!!” and uttered gibberish of a spell, Dirk’s blade swooshed, slicing the hand off.

It fell, and quivered, and turned into a pile of ashes with the ring in the middle; Life screamed, and all the colours rushed off her, the Harleys’ illusions disappeared, and the trance Jake was in was lifted. He found the ability to move again, and grabbed the ring, shooting a glance at Jade, who looked just as shaken as he felt.

Mr. Crocker tugged Jane’s body closer to him, while John’s palace around them crumbled, leaving nothing but pitch black darkness. The scared voices of other guests from the wedding filled the space, and Rose conjured a sphere of light that rose over their heads, illuminating the spellbook that she opened promptly.

“Can you get us out?” Mr. Crocker asked, voice laced with worry and fear.

“I think so,” Rose replied. “If nobody wants to stay here for a little longer–“

“Of course not!” Mrs. Lalonde snapped.

Jade brought her hand around Jake’s shoulder, and he hugged her back.

“Be ready,” Rose told Dirk, and he nodded. “Here, read this with me,” she handed Jake the book, opened to the page about disrupting illusions.

Rose made a series of complicated motions, and Jake read more strange words that made the very space around them wobble and quiver. The next thing they knew the thick darkness dissolved into thin air, and they were standing in the dim hall in front of Void who was still as a statue, concentrating on upholding the illusionary realm they were not longer in.

Her hands were conveniently resting in plain sight, and before she started to come out of trance because of sudden voices filling the hall, Rose read the counter-spell and Dirk sliced the ring off, leaving Roxy’s untouched hand.

Mrs. Lalonde caught Roxy, whose skin returned to its natural colour and whose white wedding dress didn’t bare a spot, and placed her on a bench, stroking her hair with a shaking hand.

The other wedding guests huddled up, looking around, not trusting their eyes, afraid new monsters were going to pop up any second.

“Seems we can’t get away with lying this time,” Dirk said, and glanced at Jake and Jade, frowning. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I...” Jake shuddered, his parents’ and grandparents’ faces still in his mind, so real, so alive. “I’m fine.”

Jade leaned her shoulder against his and dipped her hand into warm comfort of Bec’s fur.

Dirk, Rose, and Kanaya went on to make up explanations for the guests, but he couldn’t focus on their words.

“It was good to see them again,” Jade said. “It was more than we could ever hope for.”

Jake looked at her – her eyes were wet, but she was smiling.

“Yes,” he said, voice hoarse. “Yes, it was.”

The rest went unspoken, no words needed to be said in this mutual silence that united them, a mix of grieving and happiness.

Jake opened his fist, and looked at the ring of Life lying there, a simple golden band covered in tiny symbols that could be mistaken for a clever ornament.

He tried to summon the enchanted flame again, but he knew nothing would happen: now that he knew what the matter around them _could_ be like, he felt the lack of magic, as if they’ve climbed a mountain and were breathing rarefied air.

Rose cleared her throat: apparently, she has finished calming people down, and now was looking at Jake intently.

“I will have to take the ring,” she said firmly. “I can’t risk you having any... ideas.”

Jake wasn’t offended, if he was honest with himself, he didn’t trust himself not to decide to use the ring later to see their family once more and imagine everyone alive, together, and happy.

He passed the ring to Rose, and she put a chain through it, hanging it on her neck like a pendant.

Dirk frowned. “Actually, you didn’t seem too eager to leave the illusionary realm yourself. You should give us the ring of Void. Who knows what _ideas_ will come into your head.”

Rose hesitated only for a beat. “Fair enough,” and Dirk caught the ring she threw at him, as well as another chain that he put around his neck instantly.

***

If anyone suggested they would leave before ensuring Jane and Roxy are okay, Jake would refuse; he wanted to apologize for this mess, and for all the trouble they caused on this very special day, and, of course, he wanted to seek forgiveness for leaving Jane three years ago – now that he had time to think everything through and imagine the situation from Jane's perspective. Thankfully, nobody suggested that.

“Thank you. Scary to think what it would be like if you didn’t show up,” Jane said, after she and Roxy regained their consciousness and listened to their whole story attentively, starting with Crystal Falls. Jane looked tired, but determined, Roxy was sitting by her side, holding her hand tightly, as if afraid she’d slip away.

Both of them mostly talked to Jade and Rose, sometimes throwing side-eye glances at Jake, which made him even more nervous about the prospect of apologizing to them. However, this time he knew this was something he couldn’t find an excuse for avoiding, like he usually did with uncomfortable situations.

Both confessed the events were like a nightmare that left only obscure ideas and images in their minds, but spoke of them with haunted expressions that said there was more to their experiences that they let on.

“Jane…” Jake began, glancing at the others nervously, thinking that he would prefer to apologise tête-à-tête with her. “Is it alright if we talk?”

She frowned, but nodded, and they took a few steps away from the group (Roxy followed), while everyone pretended to be deep in conversation immediately.

He inhaled deeply, avoiding her heavy gaze. “I’m really sorry for everything. I know that simply saying sorry isn’t enough, no matter how many words I will say, it won’t be enough, but I really regret everything. Especially leaving you like that, it was disrespectful, I’ve never realized that this...” He didn’t want to say the word ‘relationship’, so he made a vague gesture between the two of them. “This would affect you that much. I’m sorry for this, for never asking your opinion or being interested in what you think, I was a horrible friend and boyfriend...”

 _I was a horrible person,_ he wanted to say, because he has just begun to understand how self-centred he has been, while covering it by having fun adventures with Jade and making her opinion matter to him, tricking himself into thinking that if he treats one person like this, it automatically transfers onto everyone else.

That’s why they’ve never had any long-term friends.

At least he was glad to see Jane happy with Roxy. Both of them really deserved it.

“I don’t hate you, Jane, I swear. I liked you, but not in a way Roxy does,” he sent Roxy an apologetic smile, and shoved his hands inside his pockets to calm down the tremor. Willingly admitting his worst qualities turned out to be quite stressful. “I just didn’t… I was a really dumb kid three years ago, who knew nothing about people. And I’m really sorry for making you believe into something that wasn’t there.”

When he finished, Roxy’s expression was still cold, but Jane was contemplating.

“You hurt me a lot that time,” she hesitated. “I was really angry and torn up about it, and I still am, but... We are not sixteen-year-olds anymore. And perhaps I overreacted today because of the circumstances, I don’t really hate you, not anymore. I have a new, better life now, and I shouldn’t care about what was in the past… Apparently, you’ve grown up to be a somewhat decent man, all things considered – and while I can’t say I forgive you, I accept your apology anyway.”

Jake’s face lit up, he didn’t expect it to go this smooth. “Really? Does it mean... we can be friends again?”

Jane and Roxy exchanged glances, having a silent conversation.

“We’ll see,” Roxy said. “It seems you’ve been getting rid of your dick-ish qualities, so I don’t see why not. Eventually.”

Jake beamed with delight; obviously, they didn’t welcome him with open arms, but it was a start. He fished out a little box he bought earlier at a wedding shop and handed it to the girls – he didn’t give it before the apology because Jade said it would seem like a bribe.

“Here,” he said. “Consider it our wedding present, since we’ve taken your rings away from you, here’s your compensation.”

Jane and Roxy opened the box containing two simple golden bands.

“I didn’t know what kind of gemstones or ornaments you wanted, so I took plain ones,” he said, and Jane smiled at Roxy, her bright blue eyes sparkling. “Don't worry, they're from a regular shop made by a regular blacksmith.”

“Thank you,” the girls said in unison, and Jake looked around the interior of their house pointedly when they kissed again as if they have just exchanged their wedding vows.

Jake shuffled awkwardly towards the group to catch an end of a conversation about Life and Void (not that Jane or Roxy paid any attention to his absence).

“What did I miss?”

“We were just talking about family trees,” Dirk replied. “Rose says Sandford University has an archive that holds birth records, and she suggested we check it to see who your ancestors were.”

“I reckon you might be related to someone powerful if you could use magic like this,” Rose added.

“But you could use it too,” Jake pointed out.

“You forget that I was trained by the old witch; in theory, obviously, but trained nonetheless.”

“By the way, you are all invited to the wedding,” Jane said, who rejoined the group along with Roxy. “It seems fair.”

And although they both smiled, the traces of pain and confusion they experienced mere hours ago were clear.

“Thank you!” Jade said. “Are you still planning on having a celebration then?”

“Of course,” Jane replied firmly. “I told you – I won’t allow any force on Earth or beyond Earth ruin this day.”

***

To Dirk’s surprise, when they arrived at the reception held in a huge marquee at Jane and Roxy’s backyard, he saw that nearly all the guests stayed. They must have been really devoted friends and relatives, or maybe they were too scared to be left alone and tried to find comfort in the party atmosphere.

The smaller part of the marquee was full of round tables covered with white lacy tablecloths, as well as plenty of various alcoholic beverages the guests gladly consumed.

The bigger part was left for dancing, and couples were spinning just like records on the gramophone. Jake and Jade contributed too, lending the records John gave them, and the air was filled with slow waltz-like melody.

Jane and Roxy were wearing their wedding gowns again (Dirk overheard Roxy saying she won’t let it hang in the closet unused), and were currently dancing in the middle of the dance floor, looking at each other with such adoration, it made Dirk ache for something unexplainable.

Dirk was engaged in his favourite pastime – reflecting on his life choices and tormenting himself about the future, while Jake was talking to Mrs. Lalonde, and Jade was catching up with Mr. Crocker, Bec by her side.

He sighed and leaned against the wall, feeling really out of place here: not only did he (as well as Jake and Jade) stood out in the sea of jewellery, lace, and bow-ties with their everyday clothes, but he had a hard time catching the party vibe.

Besides, Rose and Kanaya were invited as relatives, Jake and Jade used to be friends with them, and Dirk didn’t fit anywhere in this picture, he didn’t know any of those people. Especially with Jane being Jake’s ex-girlfriend, which made everything... weird? He tried to repress the jealousy that was building up, because he knew it was irrational, but his mind still supplied the image of them working out their problems and getting back together.

Dirk admitted that at first he was offended because Jake didn’t tell him about living in Sandford with Jane – although it’s not like he was obligated to tell his entire life story in great detail, and it’s not like they knew each other for that long, or were in a relationship. But now that he knew the story, he felt slightly better, knowing that the reason Jake didn’t talk wasn’t because Dirk was a despicable person whom a secret couldn’t be trusted.

“Is this that magician guy?” He heard someone whisper. “The one with the sword, I saw him there.”

He turned to look at the man and a woman pointing at him; both flinched and scattered away, seizing a bottle of whiskey along the way.

Dirk wasn’t disappointed that he couldn’t do any magic; it seemed fair that something he has never truly believed in didn’t work for him.

He touched the ring hanging from the chain on his neck automatically: he sort of expected to feel some sign of it being alive, like a heartbeat; but no, it was just a piece of metal.

Jake could probably feel something if he touched it.

If Dirk was honest with himself, the only reason he took the ring from Rose was to oppose her accusation that Jake would use the ring to make a deal with Life. Although he wasn’t sure Jake would really resist the temptation, especially after all these times he told him how much he missed the Harleys. Love truly was blind.

He was the one to know it.

Was he really in love with Jake? This affection was like an infection, overtaking every single part of his mind. Sometimes he wondered if it was merely danger that heightened the interest that otherwise wouldn’t appear. But he was sure in one thing: being with Jake and Jade was this amazing opportunity to be a better version of himself, something he never thought was possible.

Actually, he was waiting for a dirty trick. It was too good to be true – Jake was too kind and too accepting – and he was waiting for the world to crumble down, because that’s what always happened. His life always managed to suck on incredible, unbelievable levels.

But maybe today fate favoured him and made an exception.

Because today Jake English kissed him, and it became his most treasured memory immediately, beating the rest of his accomplishments with ease. Dirk has already replayed it in his mind a dozen times, making sure every touch and every sound would be engraved in his memory forever.

Keeping calm and having a normal conversation with Jake while visiting all those stupid wedding shops was the hardest trial his self-control had so far, and secretly, Dirk was kind of glad their discovery about Jane and Roxy’s wedding was so spastic. It allowed the excitement of a new fight to provide the necessary distraction, after which it was much easier to pretend like the kiss didn’t affect him at all.

Another record started playing, this time it was one of John’s happier piano tunes, and Dirk heard Jane protesting, getting out of Roxy’s arms.

“Let’s take a break for this one.”

“But it’s my favourite song!” Roxy replied, pouting.

“That’s what you said about twenty other songs we danced to. Please, Rox, I need to catch a breath,” Jane said.

“Alright-o, but you are missing out!” Roxy’s voice was loud and clear over the music. “Dear family and guests, I offer you a unique opportunity to dance with a bride! Are there any takers? No? Kanaya, I hope my dear cousin won’t mind if I steal you.”

Even if Rose minded, she didn’t have time to interject, because the next moment Roxy was dragging Kanaya out on the dance floor.

Jane took a glass of water with a relieved sigh and slumped on a bench next to Dirk, wiping sweat off her forehead. She was wearing some kind of a tiara with pearls now, and her short curly hair were decorated with flowers.

She nodded at him in acknowledgement. “Hello… Dirk, right?”

“Hello, Jane,” he replied, and they sat in silence for a while, until Dirk noticed how solemn and sad her expression turned after departing with Roxy, and felt responsible for this.

“I’m sorry about ruining your wedding day. I wish there was something I could do.”

She signed and smiled weakly. “You saved our lives, what more can we ask of you?”

“Actually, your lives weren’t in danger,” he said. “The spirits–”

“–restore any damage done to their vessels,” Jane finished. “I know, I heard Rose. Still, you saved this,” she gesticulated around the hall, but Dirk didn’t answer.

Frankly, nothing they’ve done made him feel like a hero yet; although he had no idea how heroes were supposed to feel.

But neither did it feel like a huge tragedy, at least for him personally; it was more like a fun adventure to have with Jake and Jade.

But Dirk knew it wasn’t right; he remembered Sollux saying that they ruined his life, and he found himself agreeing that his anger was justified. Of course, it was easy for Ampora and Megido to take use of him.

He saw Mrs. Lalonde, who has finally released Jake from her clutches, passing by with two bottles of wine in her hands, filling Mr. Crocker’s glass from the third.

Dirk wanted to call Jake over, but as soon as their gazes met, Jake was ambushed by Roxy, who left the dance floor only to swill vodka straight from the bottle.

“She is not always like this,” Jane said, regarding the scene with certain sadness. “Today she had a huge stress she is trying to drown in alcohol, just like all the other guests.”

Dirk nodded his understanding, watching Roxy pour a glass of vodka for resisting Jake.

“Please don’t get the wrong idea,” Jane started again after a pause, “but could you tell me how Jake has been doing?”

“What kind of a wrong idea I am supposed to get?” Dirk asked.

“Well, you and Jake are together, right?”

On the other side of the room Jake drowned a glass.

Jane pursed her lips, and Dirk thought they might have more in common than he thought.

“No, we are just friends,” he answered.

“Oh. When I was Life, I thought...” Jane said in confusion, but pulled herself together quickly. “Well, that’s good. I was afraid you might get jealous if his ex-girlfriend would ask you questions about him.”

“Do I really seem like a jealous type?”

“You never know. I didn’t know I was the jealous type until some guy tried to make a move on Roxy,” Jane smiled in her glass and waved at Roxy. “Anyway, I would ask Jake directly, but it’s still a little bit awkward, with everything that happened...”

She trailed off.

“Do you still...” Dirk asked, making a vague gesture. He wasn’t shaped for asking personal questions, especially questions involving the dreaded word _love_.

Thankfully, Jane was perspicacious; she frowned for a few moments, and then her eyes widened in understanding.

“O-oh, no, of course not!” She actually laughed at this. “I got married today, if you haven’t noticed.”

“One statement doesn’t contradict another.”

Jane stared at him with a sort of unpleasant pity.

“I would never do anything that could break Roxy’s heart,” she sipped her drink again and added with a more thoughtful tone. “As for Jake... I guess I’m still heartbroken? Well, perhaps _'heartbroken'_ is not the correct word, I am... disappointed. That it didn’t mean anything to him, that it was just a fling. But I still continued to date him despite knowing it... I think a naive part of me thought that if we date long enough, he’ll fall in love with me as well,” she shrugged. “That didn’t happen, obviously. Love doesn’t work if only one person is trying.”

She smiled at Dirk and added in a lighter voice. “Sorry to dump all of this on you, it’s just easier to talk about your troubles with a complete stranger.”

“Cheers to that,” Dirk said, raising his glass of water, and they clinked.

“Anyway, my question stays,” Jane said. “How is he? I would ask Jade, but...”

She made a helpless gesture towards Jade, who was very loudly asking for a volunteer to hold an apple on their head for her to shoot. Luckily, no one was drunk enough to agree.

“He is fine,” Dirk answered, even though he didn’t know what to compare the current situation to. “Seems content with travelling, writing, and learning legends and magic.”

Jane nodded. “Good. I can’t say I envy you though, with all this spirit weirdness.”

“Oh, it has its perks, like,” he leaned towards her and whispered, “stealing the Crystal Falls crown and other priceless jewellery under the pretence of _saving the world_.”

The joke wasn't funny, but Jane laughed anyway to relieve the tension.

“So what’s your role in this mess?”

“Oh, I’m just hanging about, assisting with the mission as much as I can. I’m an engineer. What about you?” He asked, realizing that the only thing he knew about Jane was her name.

“I work at Dad’s bakery. It’s a family business, sort of. Roxy helps sometimes, even though she is a lot more talented when it comes to chemistry.”

Frankly, Roxy didn’t give an impression of a scientist. “I bet she works in Science Centre?”

“Right you are,” Jane smiled. “I don’t know if Jake mentioned it, but we met when Jade wanted to get a job there.”

Dirk shook his head, and she sighed, “Of course he didn’t. I asked Roxy to pitch for Jade, but it was fruitless, they wouldn’t listen. After all, she is still just an intern.”

She looked kind of sad again, that’s why Dirk said, “I don’t think it means anything, that he didn’t talk to me about you. He simply didn’t have time, we’ve only known each other for two months.”

“Two months and you already travel together?” Jane asked in surprise. “Who are you, some miracle worker?”

“I’m just a man who was in the right place at the right time,” he said, still feeling irrationally proud of being somewhat special.

But Dirk was anything but a miracle worker, and he was afraid he would only bring trouble. He did the same to his brothers as Jake did to Jane, left without saying a goodbye – and all could be repeated, and some time later Jake would be the new Jane, angry and hateful towards the person who broke his heart.

Now he only wished he had something special to give Jake to cement his position. But Jake was already in possession of everything a person could wish for, except for one thing – but Dirk wasn’t able to bring people back from the dead.

***

Back to twenty minutes ago, Jake has just finally shook Mrs. Lalonde off. He didn’t mind talking to the woman, but not when every single sentence led to her asking hysterically, _Are we still in danger?_ , and then drowning her fear in wine.

He spotted Dirk in the crowd, talking to Jane, and wanted to approach them, but Roxy suddenly appeared by his side.

“Evening Ja-a-ake,” she was slurring a little, as she took a swig from her bottle of vodka and gazed at it with approval, murmuring, “good stuff right here. You want any?”

“No, thank you,” he replied and smiled at her encouragingly. “Good party.”

“I know,” Roxy said with extreme pride and gulped some more vodka. “It’s my weddin' and that’s my wife.”

She waved at Jane, grinning blissfully.

Jake thought that this was the chance to ask a question that was burning him since he saw Jane and Roxy standing under the wedding arch together.

“Is it okay if I ask how did you get together? I thought you were just friends, I’ve never seen an inkling of interest from both of you when I was dat– when I was living in Sandford.”

“I don’t know, maybe because you were a dick who didn’t pay attention to others?” She blurted out, then winced, and opened her mouth silently, as if pondering whether she should apologize.

Jake wasn’t offended when she didn’t.

“I have to warn you, Jakey,” a ghost of the same cold expression she wore when Jane shouted at him grazed her features. “Even though you are kinda friends with Jane now, it doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. My personal hooks are all over the place, and you will have to try really hard to wiggle out of all of them. I will do anythin’ within my power to ensure her well-bein’. ”

“I’m sorry, Roxy,” Jake said, eyes not leaving the floor. “That’s fair.”

“I’ve loved Jane ever since we were kids,” Roxy mused. “Ever since she moved here. At first we were friends, then we became best friends, and she started sharin’ her secrets with me, and I started hoping that my love can be requited… I was musterin’ up courage to ask her out for a lo-o-ong time, and finally there was a moment when I was almost certain we could be together... But then you appeared with all your dashin’ looks, and endless stories, and stupid chivalry that swept ladies right off their feet. And there was no chance left for someone like me.”

She jabbed Jake in the chest with the bottle, and he felt a stab of guilt, yet again.

“I wished the best for Jane, I always did, and I knew I would accept any of her choices... But it just seemed so unfair, to see her waste her affections on someone who obviously didn’t care... After you left, I tried to be the best friend she deserved, the supportin’ hand and a shoulder to cry on she needed. And I was so happy when she said she wanted to go out with me,” Roxy took another sip from the bottle and gazed at it like it held all the answers. “Sometimes... sometimes I still think, what if the only reason she is with me is because there was nobody else, because you left, and she just settled on the second best, and we were brought together by a set of c-coincidences, not by a match made in heaven...”

She glanced towards Jane again.

“I just love her so much.”

Jake stared at his feet, unable to think of a word to say. He had no idea about Roxy’s feelings, and now it seemed like he was the worst person in existence.

“Why are you telling me this?” Jake asked carefully; he wasn’t sure how to comfort her. “Go tell her.”

“I’ve already did, I do every day. But I’m still not sure. You can’t really get into another person’s head, you know, even someone whom you’ve known since forever.”

“We have a spirit of Mind, we can release it...” He suggested, but Roxy’s gaze was fearful, and he added quickly, “I’m joking.”

“No more spirits, please,” Roxy muttered, and swayed a little. “I don’t want to feel... _void_ again.”

She pressed an arm to her chest and stooped her head, as if trying to protect herself from something invisible. However, she squared her shoulders again quickly, and busied herself with pouring vodka into a tea cup.

“In any case,” she continued, trying to sound chipper, “I can’t talk to Jane right now, she needs a break from partyin’, from me. I can’t have her get bored with me so soon, can I?” She let out a forced laugh. “Let her get to know your new boyfriend, they seem to be friendly. Here, drink this.”

She handed him the cup, but Jake pushed it away, gaze snapping to Dirk on automate.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” he mumbled.

“He is not?” Roxy sounded genuinely surprised, and watched him with an intensity that made him shiver, as if she tried to read his deepest thoughts.

Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion. “Oh well, good to know you suffer just as much as she did. Well, not good, but you know what I mean. Maybe it’s petty of me to think this way, but...” She sighed and shook her head. “Come on, drink that vodka, it’ll wash all your problems away. Believe me, I’ve drank so much of this stuff when my dear Janey was heartbroken and I couldn’t do anythin’ to help her...”

The guilt again, and the fact that Roxy seemed to understand his feelings, and remembering kissing Dirk, and wishing they could be at Jane and Roxy’s places today, resulting in regret about a simple fact that Dirk wasn’t _his_ – and probably would never be, after he saw what failure of a relationship Jake was in – all of it blended into one decision, and Jake accepted the cup, drowning it in one go.

His throat was burning like he swallowed a chunk of lava, he coughed frantically.

“Something to wash it down, please,” he wheezed, and Roxy shoved another cup in his hand, he gulped it, expecting water, only to find out it was more vodka; he spat it out, and Roxy patted him on the back.

“It’s okay, it’ll pass soon.”

And indeed, after the coughing fit finally ceased, and his throat stopped being burnt in a volcano, Jake felt his mind being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.

***

Jane was a pleasant interlocutor, Dirk thought – sensible, calm, and disapproving of the drunken state of the party. Those could be the qualities that attracted Jake in people – it was a very encouraging thought, since Dirk himself possessed them. She seemed content with sitting on the cushioned bench with him for almost an hour now, as though they were judges ready to give each guest a mark. In the end, he didn't feel jealous towards her because of Jake, especially seeing how it was her wedding.

They spotted Rose, returning from wherever she’s been with a tiny bottle of transparent liquid; she looked around furtively, making sure nobody saw her, but failed to notice Jane and Dirk, and proceeded to drip the liquid into the glasses of wine standing on the table.

“What do you reckon she’s doing?” Jane asked, frowning with worry. “She is not going to– I mean, it can’t be poison, right?”

“Of course not,” Dirk said flatly.

Jane chewed on her lip. “Well, it’s just that… she’s always been a little bit weird, Roxy says, who knows what’s on her mind.”

“Only one way to know,” Dirk said, and they approached Rose, cornering her.

She slipped the bottle in her sleeve as soon as she saw them.

“What have you been doing?” Jane asked, pinning Rose with her stare.

Rose straightened her shoulders, and her voice sounded defensive.

“I’m helping them, that’s all. I made a potion that will ease their pain and confusion, and it should be mixed with alcohol to amplify the effect.”

“A potion?” Jane asked with a mix of indignation and disbelief.

“Yes. The old witch used to say that powers of Life make the strongest potions to deal with human mind,” she explained, primarily addressing Dirk. “So I tried brewing some memory-altering draught while you–“

“Memory-altering?!” Jane exclaimed. “Are you trying to erase their memories?”

“No,” Rose’s tone was patient, like she was trying to explain something to a child – and Dirk suddenly realised that Rose was indeed the oldest of them, and probably the most mature. “This will merely numb their senses, all the turmoil and fear of the unknown will seem like a bad dream. See, all is for the greater good.”

Jane chewed on her lip. “But still, you didn’t even ask anyone’s permission...”

“What’s the commotion about?” Jade asked, peering at them with immense curiosity, Bec by her side. Jake and Roxy approached as well, strong scent of vodka trailing after them. Roxy swung an arm over Jane’s shoulders immediately (either in desire to be close or to prevent herself from stumbling; it was hard to tell).

“Rose poured a potion in all the drinks that’ll change everyone’s perception of what happened,” Jane explained, looking at Roxy for support.

“O-oh, that’s not good,” Roxy frowned. “What if they want to remember everything the way it was?”

Rose rolled her eyes demonstratively.

Frankly, Dirk was on Rose’s side, but he decided against saying anything in order not to be glared on. He’d hate to lose trust of all these people.

“I agree,” Jake said, feverish blush prominent on his cheeks.

“Fine,” Rose scoffed, as if she was betrayed by every single person at this party, grabbed the tray with the drinks and marched towards Kanaya.

“I really should ask her for a recipe,” Jade said thoughtfully, and suddenly darted after Rose, screaming, “Rose!! Wait!!”

Jane hugged Roxy with one arm as well, and Dirk felt a sudden wish to defend Rose rising inside.

“She was just trying to help.”

Roxy shrugged, laying her head on Jane’s shoulder. “I know cousin Rose means well, but her methods are... most unorthodox. Magic, am I right? To be honest, I expected her to give us a little whimsical bonus, like an invisibility cloak or whatever. After all, I was the only one in our family who believed her… Um, kind of. Usually I just took her weird magic books and rewrote them to make them juicier.”

She giggled, and Jake waved a hand at her.

“Magic is real, it’s n-no, no laughing matter,” he said, stumbling on words, and Jane sighed in deep disapproval.

“So what are you going to do next, with the spirits?” She asked.

“Go on wild adventures, save the world!” Jake exclaimed, waving his hands so widely he almost knocked Dirk’s shades off. “Sorry,” he muttered and placed his entire hand on Dirk’s face trying to straighten them.

“We need to find the rest of the vessels, there are only five left,” Dirk said.

“Why?”

“So that we can destroy them.”

“Didn’t you say before that they were indestructible?” Jane asked, furrowing.

“Rose will make a magical thing,” Jake waved his hand vaguely again. “And we’ll destroy them all.”

“Don’t worry,” Dirk added quickly. “When it comes down to the final battle, I’m sure we’ll take necessary precautions and the civilians won’t be in danger.”

Jane and Roxy exchanged glances that told Dirk he didn’t reassured them at all.

“Well, good luck to you anyway,” Jane said. “Our fate is in your hands.”

And then she glanced at Jake, sporting a euphoric grin, then at Jade, placing an apple on Bec’s head and aiming at it with her rifle, then at Rose with the Life ring, who waved her hands like a lunatic, trying to conjure another spell, and finally at Dirk – and he knew what she was thinking at that moment; and for the first time the true meaning of the responsibility they’ve decided to load themselves with really hit him.

If anyone of these people, or any other simple people who knew nothing about magic, die, it would be his fault.

“Oh, Dirk, do you remember?” Jake asked suddenly, tugging his sleeve.

“Remember?...” He asked absent-mindedly, mind still loaded with the future.

“The song,” Jake said, as if stating the most obvious thing. “It’s ‘Time’, it played when we went to Dolly’s Bar at home! And I gave you the record of it! Which makes it, uh, symbolic of everything. Of us. Of Dace Hagler.”

Dirk listened to the music, catching the familiar tune and words, and nodded.

“And you know what else I remember,” Jake said, peering straight into his eyes, grasping his upper arms firmly for balance. “You promised we’d dance.”

Dirk felt like he was suddenly shoved under a spotlight; Jane’s eyebrow rose gently, and Roxy stuck her face in Jane’s shoulder, snorting.

“I suppose that’s our cue to leave. Do enjoy the rest of the evening,” Jane said, giving them a little humorous bow and offering Roxy a hand. “Shall we?”

Roxy beamed, and said loudly over the music, while they were marching to the dance floor, “I thought you’d never ask!”

“Soooo?” Jake drawled after the girls occupied the centre of marquee among the other dancing couples.

Dirk chose his words carefully, imagining what it would be like to be as close with Jake as Jane was with Roxy.

“You said we’ll do it when there will be no spectators.”

“Oh, nobody’s looking, all eyes are turned on Jane and Roxy...”

Dirk looked and indeed, almost all the guests were watching the newlyweds; and while he was pondering whether it was a good idea, Jake dragged him onto the dance floor.

“I don’t know how to dance,” Dirk confessed, but Jake shook his head.

“It’s easy, you just put your hands here,” Jake pressed Dirk’s hands to his waist, “and I’ll put mine here,” he squeezed Dirk’s shoulders, “and he kinda sway to the music.”

Jake looked up at him again, and Dirk instantly wished there was no one else around – not because of the embarrassment, but because being like this, mere centimetres apart, was too intimate.

He could smell alcohol in his breath, and in any other situation he’d be disgusted, but Jake, it seemed, would forever be his one and only exception for everything.

Jake licked his lips in a gesture that was meant to be innocent, and Dirk quickly busied himself with thinking about something less tempting, like rings and spirits; but his brain was so used to multitasking, it didn’t prevent him from playing out multiple scenarios of how he could cross those centimetres between them.

Jake led them, stepping in a slow clumsy circle, and his hands travelled to Dirk’s back, while the crowd cheered for Jane and Roxy.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Jake asked, when Jane and Roxy kissed each other to the crowd’s delight.

“Yes, they are.”

“They are beautiful because they are in looooove,” Jake sang, and Dirk smiled.

“This is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“Have you ever been in love, Dirk?”

He almost jerked at the unexpected question.

“In a relationship? No,” he answered carefully.

Jake huffed in irritation. “No, I mean, in love, as in the feeling that beats through our collective hearts...”

Dirk thought back to living in Canteth, and the men he considered as potential partners – mostly the random people who worked for Dane, like the delivery guy or the mailman, he’s never seen anyone else – but neither of them ended up being a part of his grand design due to his own inability to act without making up a decade-long plan. Dane would always tell him to stop wasting time and get back to work, and Dave would laugh his ten-years-old not-romantically-interested-in-anyone ass off. Now Dirk understood that there was also a subconscious understanding that he wasn’t grown up enough (even though the thirteen-year-old him was convinced to be the opposite).

Then he thought about Jake.

“No,” he said.

“Why?” Jake gasped, as if he’s just heard some shocking revelation.

“I thought we were supposed to be dancing, not having an impromptu therapy session?”

Jake pressed his chin to where the Void ring was dangling, looked up, and repeated, “Why?”, and Dirk capitulated, shoving the desire to kiss him at the back of his mind.

“I don’t know. I suppose... Remember Fenestram, Karkat and Terezi? Love is a sacrifice, all that stuff, putting another’s needs before your own,” he paused, thinking some more and finally deciding to admit something that’s been bothering him since he met Jake aloud. “I’m too selfish for that. I don’t think I can care for other people well enough, not yet.”

Jake moved away to look at Dirk properly, and while they were still standing close, he regretted losing the closest proximity he ever had with a human being.

“You are not selfish,” Jake said with strange indignation.

Dirk shrugged. What else do you call a person who only ever thought about his plan of breaking free from his brothers and considered other people to be pieces of a puzzle in need to be arranged in order to achieve his goal?

“You are not selfish,” Jake repeated stubbornly and squeezed his back tighter. “A selfish person would never agree to go and fight evil spirits.”

Dirk only shrugged again; he appreciated Jake’s kindness towards him (towards anyone, really), but he knew himself better than anyone else.

Jake sighed, and his expression faltered.

“Rose was right, taking the Life ring away from me. It’s _me_ who would be selfish enough to want to bring our family back, even at the cost of putting everyone in danger... And the worst thing,” he sniffled, “when I saw my parents there, I thought, we are so lucky, nobody’s ever had the opportunity to talk to people gone long ago... But they weren’t real, they couldn’t be. True necromancy doesn’t exist, not in the way we hope for it to exist. That world was fuelled by my imagination, they were simply pictures filled with my fantasies, not even real memories, because there aren’t any, and I’ll never know what they truly look or talk like, because I can never see them... Why do people have to die?”

It wasn’t a question, but Dirk didn’t know how to answer anyway. The least he could do was to squeeze Jake’s waist tighter, and suggest, “Maybe Jade doesn’t realise that. For her, it wasn’t a hoax, it really was a chance to see her parents alive, and you presented her with this opportunity.”

Jade was smart, he thought, and she would understand the truth. But Jake’s expression became hopeful, and Dirk thought that this was the illusion _he_ had to create for Jake. A two-layered deception, in which Dirk volunteered for the tough task of being the only one knowing the whole truth.

Jake sighed again, even deeper; his gaze was turning drowsy and unfocused, until finally his head became too heavy to support, and he dropped it onto Dirk’s shoulder, humming the lyrics out of tune.

Dirk thought he might have a sensory overload, with Jake’s hair tickling his cheek, and his humming reverberating through his skin, the heat of his body seeping generously, while the constant subconscious awareness of their surroundings was thumping in his head. He only wished Jake was sober at that moment – but on the other hand, he probably wouldn’t want to dance with him like this if he was sober.

The song was over too soon, and the guests cheering for more jerked Dirk from the kind of daze he was in.

“It’s over, the promise is fulfilled,” he nudged Jake, and Jake stared, perplexed, as if he was seeing him for the first time.

He reached out and ruffled Dirk’s hair, still wearing this sort of wondering expression.

“How do you make your hair look like this? All... Standing up and stuff?”

“There’s this wacky invention called a comb,” Dirk said, stilling under Jake’s touch, who looked at him intensely, with no apparent intention to remove his hand. He hoped his organism wouldn’t betray him and do something preposterous, like blushing.

“It looks good,” Jake muttered, leaning just a tiny bit closer, “You should’ve worn a tuxedo with a bow-tie, that would make you even more attractive.”

Dirk’s pulse was hammering right under the chain on his neck, and he wondered if Jake could see it. His mind was singing, _Jake finds me attractive_.

Of course, it wasn’t the first time Dirk was acknowledged for his looks, even though it frequently was a general acknowledgement, something along the lines of _The Strider boys got the right genes_. Every time Dirk heard it, he wished he had an ability to create his own personal genes (or at least rearrange them in a way that would make him look less like his father). Often he thought about talking to Jake about it, since it was something they had in common, they inherited nothing from their mothers; but then he realized that their situations were drastically different, starting with the simple fact that Jake wasn’t ashamed of looking like his father.

But the opinions of all those nameless people from his past didn’t matter right now.

Should he kiss Jake after all? It’s not like he would remember anything tomorrow anyway, drunk people tend to lose their memories, don’t they?

His mother never remembered a thing about what she did the day before.

Just as he was about to move away, another hand slapped his shoulder.

“Hello there,” Jade said, appearing out of nowhere, looking extremely smug, looking from one to another.

“Jade,” Jake said, sounding dumbstruck, and Dirk shook his hands off immediately.

“How did the shooting go?” Dirk asked.

“Oh,” her smile faltered. “Jane confiscated my rifle, said I wasn’t allowed to shoot while drunk... Pfft, like it’d screw my aim...”

She linked arms with both of them, and just like that, the moment was gone. For whatever reason, she stood strictly between them for the rest of the evening, while Jake talked loudly about things unconnected to each other, and often their eyes would meet – but there was nothing beyond that. And when Jade was distracted by something, Bec took her place, as if they shared the same mind.

At night Jane and Roxy announced the party was finally over, and, with regret, said that they didn’t have a spare bedroom in their house. They offered Jake and Jade couches, suggesting Dirk would spend the night at Mrs. Lalonde’s house, but he refused, saying that he would rather stay in the dirigible.

However, feeling relentless, he went in a completely different direction – to the Sandford Science Centre, through large wooden doors of the archives that let him in when he flashed the fake ID, straight to a shelf with the letter H.

The moment Rose said all the demographic records were kept there, he was determined to examine the Harley bloodline in hopes of discovering an answer to why June Harley’s journal contained records of the changed incantations, and finally finding a logical connection in everything.

Finding Jake and Jade’s ancestors seemed easy at first: the name Harley was never changed, no matter if it was a man or a woman getting married, their partner always became a Harley. However, he discovered soon that there were a lot of gaps anyway.

There was nothing unusual in the records, apart from one thing: Jake and Jade were the first set of two kids born in centuries – all their ancestors only had one child per generation, not even twins were born. He managed to find only one set of twins two centuries ago, but one of them died soon after birth anyway, so they didn’t count.

Dirk kept looking through the old papers, calmed by their dry rustling, until another name caught his eye. While trying to fill the gap that contained no records for a rather long period of time he managed to connect the Harleys to someone new, someone with the name Peixes – a relative that for some reason didn’t inherit the family name. The connection was pretty well hidden, and a person looking through the records just for fun wouldn’t be able to notice it, but in desire to keep his mind busy, Dirk made his research as thorough as possible.

The strangest thing about it was that he has certainly heard the name somewhere, but he had no idea where, so he checked their currently living descendants. It was only one woman, Feferi Peixes, but this didn’t shed any light on the situation. There was no information about her employment or what she could be famous for. The only thing he could gather was that Feferi was currently twenty-seven years old, and her parents died twenty years prior; a perfectly normal situation, but something smelled fishy about those Piexeses, even though he couldn't grasp what it was.

Despite empirical evidence suggesting otherwise, there was no information about the Egberts being related to the Harleys, although those records would probably be kept in the newly created government of Halitus.

Despite himself, Dirk looked at the shelf with the letter S as well, telling himself he might as well do it since he’s here; but as he expected, there was no information about the Striders. He doubted the archivist even knew Torpos existed. So instead he flipped the cards towards the beginning and found the Serkets, although the old records didn’t contain any information to use against them, it seemed like the only living relative in Vriska’s family was her sister Aranea, with their mother deceased.

Dirk wanted to check Eridan and Aradia as well, but all the records about the Amporas and the Megidos were gone – the sneaky bastards must have known they would come looking for them.

He copied all the pages carefully, thinking he’ll have to hide them somewhere Jake wouldn’t look. He thought a lot about whether to tell him or not, but something seemed off here – something seemed off from the day they met Doom, and Dirk had to figure out the situation completely before revealing anything at all, so he continued his research. He didn’t want to present Jake and Jade with a half-assed theory that could turn out to be wrong.

When the morning comes, he’ll need to interrogate the owner of the first shop they visited.

***

Jake winced. There was too much white in the room, and the whiteness was sticking daggers into his eyes with the fierceness of a professional maniac. The way birds sang outside made him think they were worshipping satan, and his mouth felt like he was chewing carpet all day. Heroically, he ignored the pounding hammer in his head and remembered that last night he was at Jane and Roxy’s party, and the memories of them offering him to spend the night on their couch finally came to him.

It was a small and cosy room in beige colours, and when Jake tried to sit up and look at it properly, he fell right back on the pillows, holding his head that seemed to become three times heavier overnight.

He has never regretted drinking so much, and he scowled at the memory of Roxy promising he would forget all his troubles. True, he felt good at the party yesterday, but he would have enjoyed it in any case – and then, with complete and utter horror he remembered the way he dragged Dirk on the dance floor, and practically groped him, and asked questions he would never dare to ask; and the desire to never leave the protection of the blanket set firmly in his head.

So Jake sat under the covers for a long time, torn between reliving the feel of Dirk’s hair under his fingers, scent of his skin, and taste of his warm lips against his own, and how he would never get a chance to experience this again (maybe this was what Roxy meant?); and fear that Dirk must hate him now. After all, he was always vocal about his distaste for alcohol.

Then there was a knock on the door, and he heard Jade’s voice, “Hey, you awake?”

“Come in,” he replied, wincing at the sound of his own voice, and a moment later Bec jumped on the couch and curled at Jake’s feet.

Jade looked disgustingly fresh and happy, and she handed him a glass with greenish beverage.

“It will numb the headache and other unpleasant stuff,” she explained. “Rose and I spent all morning brewing it, so you’d better drink it.”

“A potion?” Jake took a sip and found out that it had a pleasant herbal taste.

Jade nodded. “The ring of Life has such amazing qualities, it’s probably our best discovery so far! Imagine the possibilities for medicine!”

“Almost makes you regret that we have to destroy it,” Jake said, finishing the drink and, with surprise and great relief, felt the dizziness recoiling, and his mind clearing up. “Thank you.”

Jade waved him down and sat on the edge of the couch.

“So,” Jake began, without any idea of how to approach the subject. “Have you… seen Dirk today?”

Jade smile was all too knowing, but she shook her head. “No, not a glimpse.”

“Do you think he hates me?” Jake asked boldly, worrying a thread sticking out of the couch.

Jade laughed. “Don’t be daft, of course he doesn’t, why? Just because you tried to dance with him? That’s insignificant, and I made sure nothing else happens,” her tone said that this was her final argument.

“Wait, what do you mean by _making sure_?”

Her smile turned wicked. “Well, when Jane took away my rifle, I was left with nothing else to do but to work for the benefit of my dear brother. In order to prevent the situation you’re so scared of, I put myself between the two of you, so that you won’t do something you’d regret later. I should win a sistering award for yesterday, I had so many plans. Like leaving you on your own when we were searching for the rings, it was deliberate, but you’ve probably figured it out. I thought, if you can’t beat them, join them. When you are friends with a couple, you are either a third wheel or a matchmaker, and Jade Harley is not a third wheel.”

She paused to catch a breath and looked at him, as if expecting praise for her ingenious plan – but Jake didn’t know what to say. He was glad that she separated them at the party, but also kind of disappointed, it might have been his only chance to kiss Dirk again; it’s not like they were going to find another vessel in another wedding shop any time soon. But he also knew that Jade never meant any harm, so he smiled at her and thanked her again, finally climbing off the couch and shaking Bec off the blanket.

By the time they went downstairs into the house’s small kitchen, Dirk was already sitting there, his long coat hanging from the back of the chair, and Jane poured him coffee.

He was twisting the ring of Void, deep in thought, without noticing them entering.

Only when Jane said, “Good morning,” he dropped the ring and turned to look at them.

“Hello, Jake, Jade, Bec,” he said, as they sat across the table.

Jake couldn’t quite look him in the eyes, so he settled on examining the geometric patterns on the cupboards.

“Hey,” Jade said. “Where’ve you been?”

“Went on a small errand in the Science Centre, and I took the liberty of checking your family tree.”

“Really?” Jake jerked, now unable to look away from him. “What did you find?”

There was a tiniest of pauses before Dirk brought the mug to his lips and said, “Nothing much. There aren’t any records from the so-called magicians era, so there’s no way of telling who you are related to.”

He talked calmly, a man who had nothing to worry about; and Jake thought that he might be the only one to be tormenting himself. He felt disappointed again, but didn’t have time to dwell on this, because Dirk’s next question was so out of place, he had to double take.

“Does the name Feferi Peixes ring a bell?”

Jake’s brows furrowed. “Well, yes, her mother founded the Crystal Falls museum...”

“The mother died like a couple of decades ago though,” Jade added.

“Is this it? What else is she famous for?”

Jake glanced at Jade helplessly. “I don’t know, she is rich, she does charity sometimes, schools and hospitals, all this fiddle-faddle... Why do you ask?”

“Idle curiosity,” Dirk replied, gulping the rest of the coffee in one go. “Anyway, where to next?”

Jane was still standing by the oven, a baking tray in her hands, regarding them with mild concern.

“Well, since we still have no idea where to find Ampora and the locket,” Jake began. “We wanted to go to Avis, didn’t we? If you are still up to it,” he glanced at Dirk quickly, and he just shrugged shortly, a gesture so familiar he felt a sudden wave of affection towards him.

Jade said, “And while we are at it, we can give Rose and Kanaya a lift.”

“No need,” Rose said, appearing at the doorway. “We are staying here for a while, I need to spend time with my family. But no worries, I’ll keep you updated on new leads.”

Kanaya, Roxy, Jane’s dad, and Roxy’s mom stood there as well, and the latter said, half-questioning, half-insisting, “Oh, you are leaving already?”

“I suppose we are,” Jade replied. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“I promise I’ll send you a postcard from whatever town we are going to land next,” Jake smiled. He really hoped the events of yesterday were going to be a milestone marking the time when Jane and Roxy became his real friends.

It didn’t take long for them to gather their belongings, get some provisions, and say all the goodbyes, assuring everyone that the danger was, indeed, gone for good. When they were ready to leave the house, Rose caught Jake and gave him a thick book with shabby edges.

 _Twelve Magical Advices To Make Your Writing Shine_ , the cover said.

“You mentioned wanting to write better, so here you go, the guide Aunt Ruth used, with my personal notes inside,” she explained. “Call it a gesture of comradery. Because you see, next time you meet a spirit that will use your mind to create an alternate reality, I don’t want my image to be horribly disfigured. Please, pay the utmost attention to the chapter about appropriate usage of poetic language.”

Jake smiled and hugged her shortly before she could protest.

“Oh, and one last unwritten advice from me – please make your mooning over Strider less apparent to anyone who opens a random page of your journal.”

“I am not...” Jake blushed furiously, but Rose raised her eyebrows, daring him to continue, and he felt silent.

***

While walking back to the dirigible, despite Dirk showing no signs of negativity, Jake still felt there was an unfinished business and unsaid words – no matter how much he didn’t want to bring this topic up.

He waited for the moment when Jade was distracted, and said quietly, looking at the ground, “I’m sorry for... yesterday.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” Dirk replied, just as quiet.

Jake let out a humourless laugh. “Of course there is. You fell victim to my drunken escapades. You know that I didn’t mean any of this, don’t you?”

Lying was easy, just like the first time he told it.

“Obviously,” Dirk nodded.

“So you are not mad at me?” Jake asked for one final reassurance, and Dirk’s lips twisted in a crooked smile.

“Of course not, I don’t think it’s physically possible. You must’ve gotten vaccinated with Anti _mad_ in when you were a kid, no one can stay angry at you for long, even Jane.”

Jake laughed, and Dirk’s expression became softer.

“In any case, no need to worry, I’ve seen worse. At least you didn’t try to shoot a guest,” he looked at Jade pointedly.

Jake gaped. “What?”

“A poor guy fainted when she aimed at the apple on his head,” Dirk continued, still keeping a deadpan serious expression, and Jade punched him in the shoulder.

“Don’t spread lies, Mister! That guy fainted because he was boozed up, I would never shoot at people or Bec, I was just joking around!”

“It’s a shame we didn’t see the way Jane confiscated her rifle, she said it was such a scene...”

Jade huffed and aimed a kick at his shin; Dirk dodged, grabbing Jake’s shoulders and using him as a human shield, and finally Jake couldn’t resist laughing out loud – the peace was restored.

***

They were within mere seconds of taking off when there was a yell outside, “WAIT!!”

Jake opened the dirigible’s door and peered down at Rose, who was panting, her hair in disarray from running.

She raised her head, forcing the words out.

“Wait... New lead... Clock restoration workshop... In Canteth...”

Dirk shoved Jake aside, nearly falling out of the exit in haste.

“In _where_?”

This was the first time they heard Dirk sound so shocked.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [muffled Pity Party plays in the distance]
> 
> Phew, there's a lot of important stuff happening in this chapter, starting with Dirk's decision to be more open for Jake, and ending with presenting the idea of reincarnation! That's probably why it's my second favourite... Also it's the longest in the entire fanfic (I was thinking about splitting it into two parts, but this didn't seem right).  
> My browser history consisted of nothing but google searches for wedding-themed puns while I was writing the beginning of this thing...  
> Also, I think it's worth saying that Jane and Roxy's relationship, this entire situation is one of my favourite elements in this fic (I know I say this a lot about a lot of stuff, but still). Honestly, I've even toyed with the idea of writing a spin-off about the girls history together from the very beginning.
> 
> As usual, huge thanks to everyone who leaves kudos and comments <3  
> We've just passed 100+ kudos and 100k+ words, that's so cool!
> 
> A reminder that you can find interesting facts and other stuff in my waoheas tag on tumblr: http://s-opal.tumblr.com/tagged/waoheas


	8. Family And Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the line is crossed, Dave Strider is a freaking saint, Dirk and Jake have their first feelings jam, and Dirk has the worst day in his life.
> 
> So, you know that Minor Violence tag?... That's the chapter it applies to.  
> (Beware of a bloody picture)

“So what’s the big deal about Canteth?” Jade asked, looking at Dirk, who was twisting the ring, and who has been especially twitchy ever since Rose told them to go and find an old clock, that should contain a cog-wheel, the vessel for the spirit of Time, in the shop called _Turntech_.

Jake knew the answer, but it wasn’t his secret to tell, that’s why he never mentioned it to Jade.

“That’s my brothers’ shop,” Dirk replied shortly.

“Oh,” Jade’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s good, we won’t have to make up a lie to get the cog! Maybe they’ll assist us with the search...”

As usual, Dirk took off his shades as soon as they got into the dirigible, that’s why they could clearly see his bright eyes narrowing in a dangerous way.

“Or maybe not,” Jade muttered.

For the rest of the day they’ve continued learning what it was like to have Dirk in a bad mood, which involved a lot of sulking and strained silences. He spent the entire day drawing blueprints in short, vigorous strokes, and Jake and Jade had to play monopoly on their own.

Jake tried to empathize, convincing himself that Dirk’s brothers must be horrible; despite being unable to imagine being in a similar situation.

“I don’t suppose you’ve ever written a story where a protagonist has to deal with meeting their estranged relatives,” Dirk said when they were lying in the sleeping bags that evening, and Jake knew it was his covert way of asking for advice.

Jake turned to look at him, a silhouette barely visible in the dark, with hands locked behind his head.

“You can just stay here, Jade and I will take care of the clock,” he suggested.

“It would be cowardly of me,” Dirk sighed. “Besides, they can’t dictate me what to do anymore.”

Jake stared at him, trying to come up with words of support, but instead, quite out of nowhere, the memories of kissing him swam into his mind again.

Earlier, Jake both hoped for and dreaded the moment when he will be left alone with Dirk in the dark of the night, because what if Dirk decided to stop pretending nothing happened and said he hated it? What if he said loved it? What if he said he loved _him_? But now Jake felt disappointed, yet again, because of how all the romance and kissing seemed secondary, like it was brushed aside to make way for problems the universe considered more serious.

Like the universe opposed them getting together – or maybe it just wasn't the right moment yet, and Jake should wait for a sign that would tell him when to act.

That's how the books he loved went: in them, the surrounding world always bent to the hero's will.

Jake worried the edge of his pillow, gathering the courage to address the wedding, or the things they said to each other there, or anything, and opened his mouth a couple of times, producing no sound.

And then –

There was a thundering _bang_ , and they practically flew upwards as the dirigible gave a violent jerk; clanging of broken plates rang from the kitchen; Jade yelped, and both Jake and Dirk sprang to their feet, dodging the books falling from the shelves, and busted into the corridor, colliding with wide-eyed Jade and Bec.

The smell of gas filled the air, and Jade said, “I’ll go check the tanks.”

“I’ll take the wheel,” Dirk said, and they sprinted into different directions: Jade up the ladder into the engine room, Dirk to the pilot’s seat.

Jake clung to the window immediately, but it was impossible to see anything in the dark. He waved the flashlight in hopes of catching something, brought binoculars to his eyes, and saw the outlines of an airship.

His first thought was that they collided with someone, but metal glinted in the spot of light, and he caught a glimpse of messy black hair and glasses with an eyepatch, that could belong only to a person he managed to forget about – Vriska.

Forgetting about her seemed to be a mistake, seeing how she had a cannon aiming at them, and two others that helped load it to strike again.

“Dirk, they have a cannon!” He shouted, just at the moment when Jade jumped down the ladder, saying, “Two gas cells are busted, I’ve tried to fix the gaps, but I don’t know how long they’ll last.”

“What kind of cannon?” Dirk asked.

Jake squinted. The silhouette of another airship slowly grew bigger, but they were still far away.

“Hard to see… It's a small one, and they are taking a lot of time to aim.”

The dread of being blown up in the air washed over him, doubling when he pictured the dirigible lying on the ground, broken into pieces.

“Probably their last shot,” Dirk said. His expression was of deep concentration, and Jake could almost hear him calculating all possible outcomes. “We can’t dodge, but we’ll minimize the losses. Jade, grab Bec and the valuables, and hold on tight, we are going to fall. Jake, be my eyes, tell me when they’ll have a clear aim.”

Jade pulled the chest with the mirror and the crown closer and grabbed both Bec and the railing with one hand.

Jake saw the flicker of the light igniting the cannon, and yelled “Now!”, and Dirk turned all the gas regulators off at once, emptying the gas cells.

The dirigible was propelled downwards in almost a free fall, Jake barely managed to grab the doorframe to hold still – the cannon-ball hit the top of the envelope instead of a gondola, but the impact was still rough, and he felt like they were turned upside-down. Dirk swore loudly, and out of the corner of his eye Jake saw him turning both the gas and the engines back on, but even though it slowed the fall, all was in vain, and the dirigible was still flying down; it smelt like something was burning, and he knew one of the engines was busted.

Unlike the first time Jake and Jade experienced crash-landing, now they didn’t have time to even think about jumping; unfixed belongings flew everywhere; they crashed into some trees and came to a halt, Jake smashed into the sharp edge of the control panel after getting hit by something heavy and heard Jade cry in pain.

“Everyone alright?” Jake asked, getting up, pulling his arm from underneath the table that squashed it, and feeling himself for injuries. Nothing serious, save for a bleeding cut on his chin, a couple of bruises, and an arm that was swelling like a balloon.

“Yes,” Dirk replied.

“Fine,” Jade said at the same time, panting. “Oh my god, what the fuck is going on?”

“It’s Vriska, she must have tracked us down somehow…”

“Oh yes, I wonder how,” Dirk grunted. He unsheathed his sword and climbed up to check the engines.

“Can it fly?” Jake asked with extreme worry, shaking against his will. Being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no means of flying would be horrible. Jade shared his thoughts, because she unfolded a map, scanning it hastily.

“The second engine is out, it'll take at least an hour to patch it up, and the speed and altitude will be decreased. We won’t be able to match them,” he stuck a thumb up at the ceiling.

Somewhere in the distance a train honked, and Jade exclaimed, pointing at the map enthusiastically, “Oh, we are near the railway!”

“Maybe we should go then,” Jake said, even though this suggestion made him nervous.

“Go where?”

“Well, we can reach the nearest train station in about an hour,” Jake pointed at the map. “And then another three hours to reach Canteth.”

The twins looked at Dirk, and he rubbed a hand over his hair.

“I hate to run away,” he said. “But it’ll shake them off our trail, they won’t be able to find us if we go on foot. Alright, let’s pack everything we don’t want stolen, and quick, it won’t take long till they land.”

“On it,” Jake nodded, grabbing a backpack and shoving everything he could see inside – the chest with the vessels, records, photos, his waistcoat, a camera, a wallet, journals, silver spoons…

“Jade, help me put out the fire.”

“Of course,” Jade and Bec jumped outside after Dirk.

They came back quickly, but Jake managed to stuff five bags by the moment Jade called him, and he joined them outside.

The dirigible was a pathetic sight, one of the engines was smoking, a part of the envelope was ripped off, and a hole gaped in the wall where the storage room was, but there was no time to dwell on it; Jade unfolded the map and they went in the direction of the rhythmical bangs of the train wheels, loaded with heavy luggage.

Only after they’ve forced their way through the forest, and Jake saw Jade shivering in chilly wind, he realized one big flaw in packing: he didn’t take any clothes except for his waistcoat. And it wasn’t so bad when they’ve been simply dragging their feet through the mud; the true consequence showed up when they arrived at the train station, after an hour that seemed like an eternity.

“I’m sorry, all the tickets are sold out,” the cashier lied, eyeing them suspiciously from head to toe, and Jake thought – this was it, their trip was pointless.

But then Dirk rummaged through his pyjama pocket and pulled out something that looked like a pass in a red cover, showing it to the cashier.

“It’s an emergency,” he said in his most firm and confident voice.

The cashier inspected it carefully for several long moments, looking back and forth between it and Dirk, and finally bowed and said, “My apologies, sir, you may enter.”

He threw one last hesitating glance at Bec, and allowed them to pass through the gate, without even asking for money for the tickets.

The carriage they boarded had no compartments, just rows and rows of bunks already full of passengers, mostly sleeping or settling in.

“Holey moley, what did you show him?” Jake asked, as soon as they dropped their bags on a bunk.

Dirk gave him the pass. “I figured one day we'd need to get somewhere we won't be allowed in, so I asked Kanaya to pull some strings and make me a fake ID. She gave it to me at the wedding.”

The counterfeit was incredibly well-made; it said _Harold Saxon Jr.,_ _Assistant Director of the Imperial Bureau of Investigation_ , and the picture Dirk used was cut out of the photos Jake took recently. Jade regarded it in awe.

“And you keep it in your pyjamas?” Jake couldn’t help but laugh.

“Actually, I followed your example here,” Dirk pointed at the pockets of Jake's waistcoat, filled with useful things. The train jerked and started moving. “Always wear something with the most handy stuff kept in, just in case I am stranded somewhere in the middle of the night.”

“Oh, you won’t be stranded,” Jade waved her hand. “You are with us, aren’t you?”

As the train increased its speed, Jake tried to shake the uneasy feeling he always had in those giant metal machines, the feeling of impending danger, like it could fall off the rails any moment.

He also thought about the dirigible: what would happen to it? Would Vriska just look at it and move along in attempts to catch up with them, or would she decide to mess it up? If anything happens, it would be his fault, because the idea was his to begin with… How could he ever suggest such a thing?

They were tired, but avoided nodding off in fear of missing the stop – but still were woken up from the slumber they didn’t notice falling into by Bec nuzzling them and sounds of commotion in the carriage.

The sun has just risen up, and the air was still brisk when they dragged themselves on the platform that had only a few idle passengers waiting for their trains. The city they saw around was rather big, but lacked tall buildings; it kind of reminded Jake of Nocteville. Swarms of crows were soaring up in the sky, hundreds of black dots against the pale blue colour, and their caws echoed in the quietness of a sleepy early morning.

“Lead the way,” Jade told Dirk, making a wide generous gesture, but he only scowled, pulling at the torn sleeve of his dirty t-shirt.

“Shouldn’t we at least buy some proper clothes first?”

“Oh, who cares about what we look like,” she replied lightly. “We'll be in and out, no longer than five minutes.”

After a short and silent walk (talking only seemed to waste what little energy they had) Dirk pointed out a two-storey building with a flat roof, saying, “There it is.”

“You sure you want to go in?” Jake asked, wiping sweat off his forehead and adjusting the backpack.

“Of course I’m sure. I’ve just remembered, I don’t care,” Dirk replied, but there was a bitter edge to his voice.

 _Turntech_ , the carved wooden letters said, and the door below them was covered in paper placards. The biggest placard said _Summer wristwatch discounts;_ right next to it was a sign saying _Buy smuppets here_. Below it were two notes attached, written in clumsy handwriting, _police doesn’t care for your complaints,_ and another one, _we have permit for those swords. all hundred of them._

Jake thought it must be a peculiar way of driving away the burglars.

“What are smuppets?” Jade asked.

“Hell if I know,” Dirk said, looking the building over with a hint of curiosity. “They must’ve started selling them after I left.”

Jade pulled the string and a bell rang somewhere inside.

They heard light footsteps, and a voice said, “Why on Earth would you need clocks this early, what kind of an emergency you should be in to be in need of an urgent time reminder? Come back later, we are still–“

The door opened and revealed a blonde boy in round shades, his freckled face losing expression of indifference when his gaze fell on Dirk.

“–closed. Huh,” he finished, and looked up at the ceiling, speaking louder. “Hey Bro, come down here, we have guests.”

“Hello,” Jade said, loud and cheerful, squeezing past him with Bec. “You don’t mind us breaking your timetables, do you?”

“It’s incredibly, unbelievably important,” Jake reassured, following her.

“Hey,” Dirk said in a tone drained of all emotion, and Jake realized this was the same tone he used when they first met – it seemed so weird now, in contrast to what he was used to seeing in Dirk.

“What’s up,” Dave said automatically (it had to be Dave, Dirk said he was the youngest).

Apparently, he was preparing to open the shop: there were rugs on the counter, and several of the many clocks glistened with wetness.

Jake opened his mouth, ready to explain the situation (and to shield Dirk from having to say anything besides greetings and goodbyes), but words stuck in his throat when he saw the man coming downstairs. He even had to do a double take to make sure Dirk didn’t magically teleport on the staircase, because he and Dane didn’t just look alike – they were exactly identical.

“So the ancient murals foretelling the great martyr’s return were right after all. I hope you don't expect us to cry of happiness. What did we do for you to honour us with your presence?” He said flatly, eyeing their unpresentable appearance: pyjamas with torn and muddy edges, cobwebs stuck in their hair, and huge bags crashing their spines.

Dave leaned against the counter, wiping one of the clocks without paying any intention to it.

“Actually,” Jake interfered before Dirk had a chance to answer, “You didn’t do anything. It’s more of a question of your goods’ rotation, the knowledge of which you can assist us with.”

“What my brother is trying to say is that we are looking for a specific clock,” he could almost feel Jade rolling her eyes. “We will buy it and be on our merry way!”

Dane ignored both of them.

“What are you doing here, bringing these people in my house?”

Dirk scowled. “They are not _these people_.”

“What are they then, aliens? Mutants? Werewolves in disguise you plan unleashing once the full moon comes?”

“Their names are Jake, Jade, and Becquerel,” he said, pointing at them respectively. “And like Jade said, we are looking for a clock, we are customers here, nothing more, so treat us like ones.”

“Also we are on a tight schedule,” Jade chimed in without losing her cheerful tone. “Oh, how about this one!”

She was pointing at the clock in Dave’s hands, obviously just using it as a distraction.

“I don’t know,” Jake said, playing along. “It certainly isn’t old enough. I would give it two hundred years, not a year more.”

“It’s not supposed to be,” Dirk objected. “Remember what Rose said, that the cog was the original vessel, and later it was put into a clock as means of hiding, so it can be modern-looking.”

“Still, it can’t be younger than five hundred years,” Jade added, and smiled at the Strider brothers who were regarding the conversation blankly. “Do you have anything this old?”

“We do, but there are many things we can’t define the origins of correctly,” Dave said.

“Didn’t my brother tell you this?” Dane added coldly.

Jake lost all default fondness he usually felt for new people with each their reply. “But that’s _us_ asking you, not him.”

“What do you need an ancient clock for then, to resell it?”

Jake stared at Dane in confusion, but then it struck him that maybe he thought they won’t pay.

“Our reasons are top-secret, but we have the money!” He took his wallet out and shook a thick pack of bills, about nine thousand pounds. Dave let out a low whistle.

“Whatever, help yourself,” Dane said and moved to check the cash register, but Jake knew he was still watching them.

And he couldn't stop himself from examining them out of the corner of his eye, because they were Dirk's _family_ , how could he not be interested in them? Now that the initial shock has worn out, he saw that his initial impression about Dane and Dirk being the same person was wrong: Dane looked old, older then he should be judging by what Dirk told him, with wrinkles and fair stubble, unnoticeable at first. He knew Dave was nearly seventeen, and his features were milder, but the resemblance was still striking.

“What about this one?” He asked a while later, showing them the gilded clock that had the Supreme Empress's sign on it.

“A lot of things from that time period have the Supreme Empress's mark,” Jade objected and showed her own wristwatch she inherited from Grandma, which bore the Empire's coat of arms. “Like this.”

Jake sighed. “How are we even going to find out which clock has it, we can't just break down every single one of them.”

“You are not breaking anything,” Dane said.

“There must be some kind of a sign,” Dirk said, ignoring Dane’s words. “If you bury a treasure, you always leave a mark, even if you don't want it to be found.”

“If there were imps they would probably show us what the correct vessel is...” Jade mused.

“Of course, how could we forget!” Jake smacked his forehead. “Dane, Dave, Misters Striders,” he stumbled, not knowing how to address them properly, “have you seen little black creatures, who look like evil gnomes, in, say, a past few weeks?”

Judging by the tone Dave said “No,” he thought they were completely bonkers.

“Oh, even if they did, they probably thought those were neighbours making a ruckus, as usual,” Dirk said.

“The neighbourhood has changed, for your information,” Dane said. “Don’t automatically assume everyone’s got what you’ve got.”

And then he paused and added in a much calmer tone, looking him over once more, “Where have you been living anyway, are you homeless?”

Bec woofed and nuzzled another clock towards them before Dirk could make another snappy remark.

“Oh, you think it’s this one, boy?” Jade said, taking the clock, diverting the attention once again.

“It could be,” Jake said, looking it over. “Right, Dirk?”

Of course, the clock itself wasn’t a vessel, that's why it looked old and worn out; he could clearly see places where it was retouched.

“Look!” He exclaimed, when he spotted a symbol scratched onto the surface of the clock-face, disguised in flowery ornaments. He pulled the Mind mirror out of the chest quickly. “It kind of looks like the symbol the mirror has! It can be the cipher; can anyone remember what it means?”

Jade confessed, “I didn’t even try memorizing it, sorry, I was more focused on potions...”

“Can we contact Rose then?”

Dirk shook his head. “No, Bec’s transmitter is out of range of the main one. We have to rely on our own judgement.”

“I think this is it,” Jade said with confidence. “None of the other clocks we’ve seen have anything resembling a cipher.”

“I agree,” Dirk said, straightening up. “Let’s go before _they_ catch up with us.”

Jake looked the shelves over – for some reason he felt uneasy about this, it was too quick, there must be something else they were missing. But he decided against saying anything, not when Dirk and Jade have already started packing.

“How much,” he asked the Strider brothers, while Jade moved towards the exit slowly, trying to pry the back panel of the clock open.

Suddenly Bec growled, and she asked, “What's wrong, boy?”, but the answer was the door bursting open and Vriska's hand snatching the clock swiftly.

“I’ll take that, thank you,” Vriska grinned.

They hesitated for just a moment, and couldn’t take their weapons out right away because of the bags getting in the way, but this was all the time Vriska needed to get pulled up by a rope hanging from the roof.

Dirk gripped the sword handle tighter. “How the _fuck_ did she managed... Nevermind, there’s a hatch on the second floor!”

He and Jade dropped their bags and ran upstairs, and Jake threw a bunch of bills of the counter, talking fast.

“Here, I hope it covers it, now can I please ask you to keep an eye on this? The fate of humanity depends on it, thank you!”

He shoved the bag where the chest with the vessels was in Dave’s hands, who watched him, stunned, and followed his friends, jamming his pistols with new bullets.

On the roof he saw that Vriska has abandoned her dirigible in favour of a lighter and faster air balloon, that was attached to the roof with a rope. Gamzee and Tavros were sitting inside, the latter’s agitated expression clear even from afar.

Vriska made a move to throw the clock over to them, and Jake, apologizing to the ancient relic mentally, aimed and shot right through it. Shards of glass and wood flew everywhere, Vriska’s hand jerked, and the clock slipped out; Dirk caught it.

“So you want a fight then?” Vriska spun on her heels and bared her blue sword. “A fight you’ll get. I just thought that you weren't seeking one, seeing how you ran away from your crash like a fucking coward.”

“Oh, we just didn’t want to waste time on waiting for you there,” Dirk said matter-of-factly, throwing the clock at Jade. “Thought your kind of fight won’t be worth it. How did you manage to catch up with us?”

“That was easy for someone as smart as me,” she spoke confidently. “I knew what town you were going to, your intelligencer is not the only one who listens to rumours. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but good job with the research, Tavros. I just had to follow you to see what unfortunate store has the clock, and here we are,” she spread her arms, and then shouted, “Gamzee, Tavros! Get down here already!”

Gamzee slid down the rope, regarding them lazily, as if the surroundings were no concern of his.

“Gamzee, get the clock!” Vriska yelled. “Tavros, you know what happens if you don't listen to me!”

“I’m coming,” he said, sliding down awkwardly; Gamzee supported him with one hand, not letting him fall down; the other was already holding a gun.

Tavros looked like this was the last place he wanted to be at, and for the first time Jake thought, what if the poor man was held hostage?

He trusted Dirk to keep Vriska busy with her showing off, and winked at Jade, hinting to her to distract Gamzee.

“So, Tavros,” he moved closer to the man and spoke quietly. “You don’t seem like a fan of being under Vriska’s command.”

A gunshot rang, and Jake saw Jade rolling on the ground to hide behind the chimney top from Gamzee, throwing the clock at Bec so that it wouldn’t get in the way.

“I should have known you’d bring your damn dog,” Vriska hissed, swinging her sword at Bec, only to be blocked by Dirk.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said, and the two commenced the quickest and most beautiful duel with blades moving at the speed of light.

Tavros glanced at Jake nervously, then at his pistols, and finally at Vriska, and swallowed. “Please don’t talk to me, I’m supposed to kill you.”

“I just thought, you are a linguist, right? Maybe you are tired of serving the dark side who wants to take over the world, like villains usually do; and want to come with us, we are the good guys!”

His forehead creased in confusion. “Huh?”

A brilliant idea struck Jake all of a sudden, and he almost gasped at its genius. “Or you can be a double agent, it would be even more interesting!”

“Is this a joke to you?” Tavros asked, and for the first time he heard notes of anger in his voice. “I thought you would know how to take this seriously, you would know what’s coming!”

“Of course we are taking this seriously... wait, what _is_ coming?”

“Ask your intelligencer, she has the crystal ball. We won’t need to take over the world if the spirits do it for us.”

Tavros looked fearful as he said the last words, and cocked his gun; but before he could even take aim, Jake knocked it out of his hand.

“Sorry,” he said, kicking it off the roof. “Not going to happen.”

Tavros sighed and glanced at the air balloon with longing. “The best thing you can do is getting out of Vriska’s way, Jake English, she is very set on getting what she wants, and when she sees an obstacle, she, uh, destroys it. This way you will save yourself and your friends. Also, I’m really sorry, but if I won’t do this, Vriska… will be disappointed in me.”

The blow to his face was so unexpected that Jake stumbled backwards, preventing the fall only by grabbing the lightning rod – he never saw it coming from such a mild-looking man. His glasses fell off and he fumbled about on the roof for them, thinking what kind of a scary person Vriska must be to frighten Tavros like this.

He heard Vriska saying, “What’s this?” and when he slammed the glasses back on his face, he was almost paralysed by shock, because she made a movement as if slicing Dirk’s throat open – but then he saw that she merely hooked the chain with the ring on the tip of her sword and snapped it.

The ring flipped and span in the air, glistening in rays of the rising sun, and Jake darted to catch it.

“Oh no, you don’t! Another vessel won’t be taken from us!” His palm wrapped around the ring and stopped just in time not to collide with Jade, who dodged another one of Gamzee's attacks and aimed a kick under his knee.

“Taken? _Another_ vessel?” Vriska asked with a curious tone, without missing a beat in parrying Dirk’s attacks. “That’s interesting. You probably think it was me who stole it, but I confess that it wasn’t, scout’s honour.”

“We knew it wasn’t you,” Dirk said, and their sword collided with such force that Vriska was nearly knocked off the edge of the building. “After all, you haven’t managed to steal anything from us, nothing indicated you’ll ever be able to.”

Vriska hissed and struck her sword, leaving a thin cut on Dirk’s cheek.

“Tavros, stop wasting space, get in the balloon, and wait for my command!” She yelled, and Tavros threw the last apologetic look at Jake and hurried to climb back on the balloon.

“I’m really sorry it has to be like this,” were the last words he said.

“Oh well,” Vriska continued. “I’ll just have to find it out myself, shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll wait till your blabbermouth friend slips up again. He’s just like Aranea, can’t shut up about important things... They would be a good match,” she smirked. “By the way, she told me how the spirit of Mind chose you, Strider. Are you sure you want to stick with those losers? There’s always a place for a talented person in my crew.”

Jade stopped shooting and swore, rummaging around for a spare magazine, and at that exact moment the hatch slammed open, and Dane said, “What the fuck is going on with this skirmish?”

Jake noticed that neither he nor Dave had the chest with the rest of the vessels, and winced. “Darnit, I asked you to keep an eye on the chest, it’s the most important thing we’ve got!”

“Oh my god, can you be a little quieter, Jake,” Jade hissed, but too late – Vriska yelled for Gamzee to get the chest.

Gamzee used everyone’s shift of attention to rip the clock out of Bec’s mouth, pushing him towards the hatch; Jade abandoned her attempts to pull the bullets out of the night gown's pocket and simply slammed the butt of her rifle into Gamzee’s head – but he managed to throw the clock at Vriska, and she caught it just in time when Tavros lowered the balloon.

He threw a ladder on the roof, and Vriska stepped on it quickly, still blocking Dirk’s attacks with one hand.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” she said with a maniacal grin. “You can join me and stay alive, because soon the world as we know it will come to an end. If you stick with people like them, you are bound to go down.”

“We’ll see about that,” Dirk said through gritted teeth, using the hook on the end of Vriska’s sword to his advantage, catching it with his own sword and jerking it towards him so hard that Vriska stumbled on the ladder and was thrown back on the roof.

Jake kept trying to aim at Vriska’s hand with the clock, but she hid it behind her back, so the best thing he could think about was to discard his pistols completely.

Jake chose a moment when Vriska was parrying Dirk’s attack and turned her back on him, slid up to her, and grabbed the outstretched arm with the clock. He locked her wrist between his palms and twisted it backwards, making her cry in pain, arching her spine. But despite having her wrist bent in a way that made Jake afraid he’d accidentally break it, Vriska’s fingers might as well be made out of steel, because she didn’t let him pry them open. When Dirk took use of her distraction and almost hit her with his blade, she still managed to use the harpoon ending of her sword to catch it. On top of that, she used the force from the impact to push Jake sideways with all her body weight, making him slide to the edge of the building so close that he was practically hanging off it, with Vriska as the only means of not being thrown on the ground.

She hissed, simultaneously trying to push Jake off the roof and attacking Dirk, landing another cut on his face.

Dirk rose his blade, ready for a new attack, Jake went from digging into Vriska’s fingers to hanging on for dear life, Vriska cried when he twisted her wrist harder, trying to make her pull him back. And finally, she shouted in fury, “Gamzee, will you just kill this dumbass already!!” –

– and then her words transformed into a shrill scream.

And as if time was slowed down for a moment, with dread filling his heart, Jake saw Dirk’s sword slicing Vriska’s left arm off, just near the shoulder, and the tip of the blade grazing over her eye. Scarlet blood washed the fronts of their clothes, and Jake’s heart jumped as his only connection with the roof disappeared – but before he could fall, Dirk grabbed his collar and tugged him back to safety. His hand was trembling, his fingers dug into Jake's shoulder painfully, and the knuckles around the sword were pure white; and in a sickeningly graceful way, Vriska’s severed arm drew an arc in the air, landing somewhere on the ground.

Gamzee, held by Jade, who was preventing him from executing Vriska’s command, forgot about Jade immediately and took Vriska’s right arm, helping her stand upright. Jake felt sick, unable to look at the wet sticky stump of her left arm, and the way her right hand, still holding the sword, was shaking, trying to wipe the blood that was flooding her face.

“You,” she growled, panting heavily, and it was the scariest sound Jake’s ever heard. “You will pay for this.”

Jade went to stand by Dirk’s side next to Jake, stepping into the small puddle formed by dark blood slowly dripping off the blade.

“Gamzee, Tavros, what the fuck are you waiting for, kill them all!” She screamed hysterically, but Jade stepped in front of them, looking at Gamzee with complete seriousness.

“She has an hour till she dies of blood loss,” she said. “You’d better take her to the hospital.”

Gamzee contemplated her for a moment and looked at Tavros.

“What d’ya reckon, bro?”

“It doesn’t matter what he _reckons_!” Vriska yelled, spitting blood out, her voice high and constrained with pain. “I am your captain, you must obey my command!!”

She attempted to charge at them with her sword again, but her body was out of balance after losing so much weight on one side, and her sight was messed up, and she nearly fell over; Gamzee had to catch her again.

“Sorry, Vriska,” Gamzee said, lifting her up without any effort, and stepped on the ladder gracefully, taking the rope that tied the balloon to the roof. “In the event of the captain losing their capability one of the crew must take command. Let's get her in, Tav.”

Tavros tried to assist with carrying her into the basket forcefully; she resisted, squirming in his and Gamzee’s grips, shouting curses.

“You will pay for this, Strider! Don’t ever think you won’t! I will hunt down every single person that you know, and I will destroy them in a way that the remains you will find won't be recognized as corpses! And then I will come for you!!”

“Joke’s on you,” Dirk said, keeping his tone cold. “Every single person I know is standing right here, there’s not much to find.”

Gamzee dragged Vriska into the basket, her blood staining his shirt, while Tavros untied the rope that was holding the balloon, taking the ladder in, and cast one last pitying glance at Jake.

“Goodbye, this is not the end, we’ll meet again, I'll make you pay,” Gamzee drawled nonchalantly, like they’ve just finished an aristocratic tea time. He scratched his chin. “I think Vris would say something like that.”

Jake saw the balloon ascending into the sky and realized the dread in his guts didn't go away with it.

They’ve drawn their first blood.

Jake put his hand on Dirk’s fist, still clenched around the sword, and he relaxed slowly, allowing his hands to drop.

“Well, that was an unexpected turn of events,” Dirk said, voice losing all feigned coldness.

His pyjama top was soaked in blood, and he touched it with a disgusted twist of the lips.

“You can’t just make my house your battlefield,” Dane snapped. He seemed to finally decide it’s time to interfere. “I demand explanations. Now.”

“It’s none of your fucking business,” Dirk said and wiped the blade with his shirt, putting it back into the scabbard.

“Uh, Dirk, I think it _is_ their business,” Jade said. “You heard Vriska, don’t you think that once she’s free to do whatever, she’ll fulfil her promise? You know, the one where she promised to find every single person you know, obviously starting with your family? We have to ensure their safety.”

“We can protect ourselves from a bunch of pirates,” Dave objected, but Jake found it hard to believe.

“I suppose you’re right,” Dirk said, looking down on the ground. He sounded unusually detached. “I tried to divert her attention from Equius and Nepeta, but it won’t be hard to find out who they are... Unless...”

He turned on the spot sharply and looked at Dane and Dave, clasping his hands together. “Alright, here’s the plan. You are going to stay in Avis where I live, with Equius and Nepeta. In case of emergency you’ll protect them, and in the meantime you’ll help filling my place as Equius’s assistant.”

“You’ve lost the privilege of making decisions for me and Dave long time ago,” Dane said flatly, without any intention to move. “Unlike you, I have a reputation and a business to uphold, not to mention the simple desire not to engage in your... suspicious limbs-severing activity, to say the least.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to insist,” Jade said. “The next time you see Vriska she may return with powers you can’t imagine…”

She looked at Jake helplessly, and he agreed with her whole-heartedly. Vriska had Rage, and nothing could stop her from seeking revenge.

“Trust us, it’s for your own good,” Jake said. Surprising even himself, he yawned. He managed to forget that between crashing, and running, and riding, and fighting they’ve only got a couple of hours of sleep.

“Neither of you has given us any reason to trust you.”

Despite being unable to see Dane’s eyes, Jake could feel his stern stare pinning him in place, the one he associated with school teachers, even though Jake's never gone to public school.

It was obvious that Dane was a tough person to convince, and Jake struggled to find words to retell their adventures in a way that wouldn't make them sound insane – or worse, like the bad guys.

“I don’t mind a trip to Avis,” Dave said all of a sudden, giving a little shrug. “I’m getting sick of all this constant ticking, hoards of crows, and shitty weather.”

Dane and Dave looked at each other for several seconds – some might even think they could commune telepathically – and finally Dane said, “Fine. You’d better get your explanation ready, from start to finish.”

“We’ll tell everything, we promise… Oh, Bec, you’re back!” Jade exclaimed when she saw Bec climbing out of the hatch, holding the clock in his mouth. “Good boy! Did you do everything I asked for?”

“What did you send him to do?” Jake asked.

“To get the clock and stash the arm somewhere, so that we don’t have to deal with it.”

“Now there’s a human arm buried in my backyard, great,” Dane said. “Sounds like a punchline to a terrible joke. I bet cops would get a few laughs if they decide to dig around the neighbourhood again.”

“A welcome back present from me, I know how much you love the police,” Dirk said, peeling flakes of dry blood off himself, and despite his tone Jake knew it sickened him as much as Jake himself.

Dane made an unmistakable motion of an eye roll.

“While we are on the subject of packing, could we ask you to get us some clothes and a screwdriver, please?” Jade said in her most pleasant tone. “People are waking up, and the train station won’t welcome us if we look like this,” she pointed at patches of blood staining the fronts of Dirk’s and Jake’s t-shirts.

Dane nodded reluctantly and left with Dave; and soon Dave appeared again with a lump of crumpled shirts and pants.

“Bro’s old stuff and a screwdriver,” he explained, throwing the things at them. “I don't think you need clarification about which is which. Just don’t undress on the roof unless you want to please voyeurs hiding on the trees.”

Just like with Dirk when they first met, Jake couldn’t understand whether Dave was joking or not, and glanced around cautiously. Dirk ignored his brother and pulled his bloodied t-shirt off, changing it for the clean black one, and Jake and Jade followed. Jake felt self-conscious when he tugged the pyjamas off – not because of voyeurs, but because he realized Dirk might be watching. However (fortunately?) Dirk seemed too distressed to pay attention, gazing in the distance instead. Dirk and Dane were the same size, so he was the only one who looked natural; as for Jake and Jade, the clothes were oversized and pooled around them in a comical manner, although Jake wasn't in the mood to laugh.

Jake suddenly remembered that the Void ring was still clutched in his fist, and he handed it to Dirk.

“If you wanted to make a proposal, could you choose a more romantic place than the roof of my old home?” Dirk asked, voice stiff.

Jake couldn’t help but feel his cheeks heating up, and Jade roared with laughter, toppling backwards. Bec cast a worried sidelong glance at her.

“Very funny,” Jake muttered, shoving the ring in Dirk’s hand and leaning over the clock with the screwdriver to cover up his embarrassment. He knew the reason Jade laughed was stress too, that's why she sounded slightly hysterical, but he felt uncomfortable to have this laugh directed at him anyway.

“So when you talking about spirits and potions,” Dave said in his monotonous voice, “was it a code for drugs?”

Jade was still giggling. “No, it was a code for real life magic.”

The back panel of the clock came off, and everyone (even Dave, who wasn’t pretending not to be interested anymore) leaned to peer inside the intricate mechanism blasted into smithereens.

Jake’s bullet pierced the clock right in the centre, leaving no intact detail.

“But...” Jade began, perplexed, looking over pieces of glass and metal. “Why is everything shattered, the vessel is supposed to be indestructible...”

Dirk snatched the clock and shook it roughly; pieces of broken gears scattered, jumping around and glistening in the sun, mocking them.

Among them, there was no cog covered in ancient incantations.

“The symbol was correct,” he said, showing them the clock-face where the symbol was painted, as if it was his final argument against the judge who wanted to sentence him to death. “You confirmed it!”

“It was the right clock, I’m positive, and Bec said so too,” Jade looked at Jake helplessly. “But if the cog is not here, it means... Someone else took it out?”

Jake was just about to say that nothing serious happened, so what if they slipped up this time, Rose would find them a new lead, when Dave spoke up.

“Does it mean you cut off that woman’s arm for nothing, bro?”

Dirk’s gaze snapped to Dave, and his body tensed immediately.

“Thank you for your valuable input in this conversation, _Dave_.”

The hatch opened again, and Dane appeared, saying, “I’ve packed the essentials, what ar–“

“Dane, has anyone touched this clock?” Dirk interrupted, practically shoving the clock in his face.

Dane's mouth twisted, and he took a pointed step back. “Obviously customers did. Did you forget what the whole point of business is?”

“Do you keep any records about who was interested in it?”

“Not that specific, but I have a book of customers visiting the shop.”

“Someone _was_ interested in it though. Remember, Bro, that weirdo in tacky suspenders, who looked like he rubbed his cheeks with beets?” Dave prompted. “It was about a year ago.”

“Did he happen to have a purple streak in his hair?”

Dave hummed. “Nah, I would’ve remembered.”

Jake, Jade, and Dirk exchanged worried glances. So this guy was a new variable then. It was kind of strange that he came for the clock, and probably swapped the cog-wheel for a fake, so long ago – Jake was convinced it was Crystal Falls and the crown that started the whole ordeal.

He wondered how many more people would become their enemies, and whether anyone they didn't know about have already managed to get a hold of Hope, Blood, Space, and Heart.

However, when he listed them, his mood lightened – there were only four unknown items out of twelve... But at the same time he felt kind of sad; this adventure was the best he’s ever had, and it was a shame it was coming to an end.

He shared all of these thoughts with Dirk and Jade quietly, while they, as well as Dane and Dave, were waiting for the train (Dirk flashed his government employee pass again, because they weren’t about to spend money on _train_ tickets, not when they had a (hopefully) working vehicle of their own).

“I thought so too,” Dirk said. “About the cog. Maybe this guy knows even more than we do, if he decided to steal it.”

“Or maybe he’s just a collector,” Jade suggested. “Or a clock enthusiast, who wants to make an ultimate everlasting clock.”

“What kind of life you are living, if an ultimate clock is a legitimate suggestion?” Dave asked, who was eavesdropping on all of their conversations, and received a glare from Dirk every time he chimed in.

The glare clearly translated into “Go away, Dave”, but Dave was either not good at translations, or chose to ignore things that challenged him, and continued to insert witty commentary whenever he had the chance.

Jake’s never felt so conflicted about people. He wanted to dislike Dane and Dave for how they treated Dirk, but his own manners and natural predisposition towards good opinion about new people didn’t allow him to do it; at the same time he found himself kind of enjoying Dave, but was afraid Dirk wouldn’t forgive him for that.

Dane kept quiet throughout most of their conversations; his face was a mask, it was impossible to comprehend what kind of conclusions he drew, but Jake hoped they left a good impression, because they ought to seem... well, _impressive_.

He remembered telling Dirk that if he ever met his brothers again, they would be shocked by the incredible adventures Dace Hagler has been up to; a very belated realization dawned on him: he should’ve listened to Dirk and get prepared before meeting up with the Striders. Maybe they should have rented tuxedos to wear and hire a butler to open doors for them.

All was compensated somehow by the pass that was sticking out of Dirk's pocket; it caused a spike of curiosity in Dave, whose head turned in its direction every now and then.

“What was that?” He asked finally. “A transcendent blackmail tool that shows people their deepest secret due to, of course, magic that totally exists?”

“It’s a pass of a government employee,” Dirk answered.

“Really?” Notes of suspicion were clear in Dave’s voice. “You work for the government now?”

Jake laughed. “No, we got it from a friend of ours, it’s fa–“

Dirk kicked him in the shin, nodded towards the people at the platform.

“–fantastic!” Jake wiggled out. “Absolutely fantastic!”

Dane cleared his throat. Jake kicked himself mentally for blabbing, and wondered what Dave thought about all this: for some reason Dane and Dave seemed like people who would be amazed by a masterful crime rather than repulsed by it – by then again, he knew nothing about them.

This was a thing in dire need of fixing, because if he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Dirk, getting to know his family should be at the top of his to-do list.

The thought was as sudden as a pile of bricks falling on his head.

“I’m going to buy a newspaper,” Dirk sighed, and Jake hummed his agreement absent-mindedly.

His feelings for Dirk never took form of future planning before, perhaps Jake still haven’t learnt to think about the future properly; they were just there, existing as a concept warming his entire existence. But did he really want to live with him?

No, that was a stupid question, of course he did.

He imagined cooking him breakfast, and waking up next to him, travelling, and having picnics by the lake – although they were already doing this now. The only difference would be his reciprocated feelings, and disappearance of that nagging thought he got every time he recalled their first meeting, when Dirk said he had a job in Avis he never wanted to leave.

Another point to add to the to-do list: find a compromise between Dirk’s desire to stay in Avis and Jake’s own inability to leave Nocteville.

He imagined being asked to choose between living with Dirk and keeping his family’s house; choosing any of the sides horrified him endlessly.

“Here.”

Something poked at his chest, and he raised his head to see Dirk with a newspaper and a postcard that he was handing him.

“You wanted to write a letter to Jane and Roxy,” he said, and Jake took the postcard; all the traces of doubts disappeared the moment he laid eyes on Dirk, giving place to the usual warmth blooming in his chest; their existence in the first place seemed ridiculous.

“Thank you,” Jake said, feeling a smile tugging his lips, the one he couldn’t have resisted even if he wanted to.

A loud honk announced their train's arrival, that's why he couldn’t hear what Dave asked Jade, who snorted; but he had a faint idea of what it was.

After they boarded the train, Dirk, Jake, and Jade took one seat, with Jade snatching the newspaper, Jake beginning to compose the letter to Jane and Roxy on a postcard, and Dirk being tense again and twisting the ring – perhaps, the reason for it was Dane and Dave sitting right across from them.

Dane was busy looking through the workshop records, trying to find the mysterious man; and Dave was staring at the window, or maybe at them, it was hard to tell.

“Guys, look!” Jade exclaimed suddenly and pointed at the article entitled _The Mind Of The Blind_.

She began reading aloud.

“Two days ago Sandford Science Centre received an offer from the Fenestram citizen Terezi Pyrope–“

Jake gasped.

“–that promises to revolutionize the daily life of the visually impaired. Seventeen-year-old Pyrope created a tactile writing system, in which every letter is coded with a set of embossed dots which is currently being improved and tested among other blind people.

“When asked about her inspiration, Pyrope answered: ' _Due to a recent tiny accident I had to spend some time in a hospital, where I had a lot of time to think about the place in this world I was put in, because our society is completely unadjusted for existence of blind people, despite having an entire city dedicated to science and progress. I came to a conclusion obvious to anyone with a brain – no one should ever feel desperate because of their disability, who knows where this desperation can push them. So this is what I’m doing, getting rid of that despair. Let’s say that accident involved me getting a chance to get my vision back, but that chance was taken away from me. Do I regret it? Maybe. But you can insert whatever proverb about fate you think is suitable here, because I think I was meant to be the victim here. After all, the accident wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t learn how to read with my fingers.'_

“Read _Empire Daily_ for the process of creating the system, which has been suggested to be named after its creator.”

Jade finished reading.

“I love it, tiny accident,” Jake laughed.

“Well, she couldn’t exactly say she’s been possessed by an evil spirit,” Jade snorted.

“Good for her,” Dirk added.

“Who is?...” Dave began, but Jade waved him down with a short laugh.

“All in good time,” she said and switched her attention to another article, entitled _Science Centre Turns Into Supernatural Centre? Scientists search for an explanation for a mass hallucination._

“Found him,” Dane said, showing them the journal with the customers records. “The only reason I recorded him was because he bought a wristwatch as well. His name is Caliborn…”

“…Which is most likely as alias, and he only bought the wristwatch to put up a smoke-screen,” Dave finished. “Am I doing this right, am I speaking the lingo of the people from the Land of Crime and Secrecy?”

Dirk twisted the ring so hard the chain snapped. He swore, but caught the ring before it fell.

Jake leaned against him (fortunately, the bunk was too small for three people, that’s why he could pull it off as a simple adjustment of his sitting position) and tried to transmit through their connecting bodies, _don’t worry, everything will be fine._ It was the first time he saw Dirk in such an obvious state of repressed distress, he didn’t know what else to do.

“Chill out, Dirk,” Jade laughed.

“I am chill. An iceberg in the Northen Sea crashing ships with no mercy for its passengers in its cold heart, that’s me,” he replied. “Is it all you’ve got, a name? No hints about the location?”

Dane flipped through some more pages. “I will try to find traces. However, I will only tell you the results after you explain why you are participating in this hunt.”

Jake’s gaze travelled to Dirk, which was its usual path, and he nodded.

It seemed he stared at him for too long, because Dirk asked, “What?” with obvious discontent, and Jake quickly scrambled for a reason.

“She cut you,” he said, touching a cut on Dirk’s cheek, allowing his thumb to linger just a tad longer than it was needed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Dirk muttered, voice softer now, and leaned against the wall, eyes fixed on the scenery passing by.

The sleepless night was taking its toll, and even though he tried to stay awake, Jake fell asleep the moment the silence settled, despite the train’s annoying clunking sounds that probably translated into “danger” and “death” in train Morse.

He felt like he has just closed his eyes, and then he was lying on something warm, something equally warm and heavy pressing him down. The pillow was far too comfortable to let go of, and it smelled nice, something indescribable, but associated with safety and cosy evenings in front of a fireplace. He slapped the annoying hand that shook him (and was the reason he woke up), and with a thought of _I’ve just withstood a tough battle, I deserve to sleep more than one second,_ gripped his pillow tighter, determined not to let it go.

However, once awoken, his mind started working, and the next moment it came to him that the thing lying on him was Jade, and the “pillow” was Dirk, in fruitless attempts to pry Jake’s fingers off his shirt.

“Get up,” he was saying. “We’ve arrived.”

Jake jumped so high he kicked Jade off the bunk – he has committed the traveller’s worst crime, falling asleep on an unknown road.

“Did we miss our stop?!”

Jade fell on the floor and swore loudly, fully awake now.

“No,” Dirk said with a patient tone of a father who uses his own example to explain to children why they shouldn't eat broken glass. “Otherwise I wouldn't be waking you up so calmly. We’ve arrived to our destination.”

Grabbing their heavy luggage, they exited the train and separated from the crowd that was streaming towards the town, and Bec led the way into the forest.

Two hours later, that seemed so much longer and more tiring because they weren’t running on adrenaline anymore, they saw the pitiful carcass of the dirigible; now they could see every wound and hole.

And it was worse on the inside: the floor was covered in shreds of broken china, the furniture and clothes were turned, and Vriska clearly didn’t leave any shelf unsearched. Luckily, she had to spy on them, so she didn't have time to destroy any of the equipment.

Off-handedly, Jake wondered how she was doing right now. Was she okay, did Gamzee and Tavros manage to find a doctor to fix her arm?

He sighed, biting his lip, and joined Jade and Bec in putting everything in places, and Dirk grabbed his toolkit, saying he needed thirty minutes, and they would fly again.

With Dane and Dave’s help they managed to sort out the heap quite well.

“We’ll help,” Dane said. “It’s only fair, since we are the passengers too.”

“You could’ve helped in the battle with Vriska too,” Jake said, but he didn’t want to be rude, so he muttered it under his breath.

Unfortunately, Dave, who was close by, sorting one of the backpacks out, heard him, and answered in a low voice as well, “Bro said he wanted to see how much Dirk’s skills changed.”

Jake pursed his lips, biting back his less than flattering opinion about their behaviour.

Thirty minutes later, like he promised, Dirk announced that while he still needed to visit Centaur Technologies to perform major repairs, they will be able to fly to Avis.

His voice was strained, and his shoulders were hunched – and suddenly Jake realized how tired he must be after not getting any rest in the train, because someone had to stay awake so that they wouldn’t miss the right stop.

He felt like an inconsiderate asshole.

That’s why, when the dirigible rose in the air slowly, with screeching and grinding metal sounds, Jake offered him to go to sleep.

Dirk pocketed his shades carefully and slumped on the pilot seat.

“I have to keep an eye on any malfunctions,” he rubbed a hand over his face, and Dave turned at the movement. “I practically fixed the engine with pliers and a toothpick, so I can’t guarantee there won’t be any.”

Jake watched him in reverence.

“Besides,” Dirk’s eyes narrowed as he turned to Dane, “Someone owes us information about the whereabouts of the mystery man.”

Dane regarded him silently for a moment.

“Not before _someone_ tells me the reason you need this. I won’t disclose information to the trio whose sanity can be questioned… Oh, I’m sorry. A quartet,” he replied, a sneer barely noticeable in his voice.

Jade interfered before Dirk could snap back at him.

“Of course, you’ll think we are crazy if you don’t believe in magic… I confess, I didn’t either, before we went to the Crystal Falls and met a guy there, whom Jake got into an argument with, and we performed a spell that was supposed to unleash the spirit of Doom as a joke, but it worked…”

And thus, Jade went on, telling an abridged version of their adventures, occasionally showing the articles from newspapers as proof.

“…and then boom! The whole dirigible shakes because Vriska cannons us, the gas cells are busted, we are barely holding up in the air, I try to fix them, but that's no use; and then Dirk cuts the engines off, so the second cannonball doesn't hit the gondola, just the envelope – dude, I totally forgot to thank you for practically saving our lives! But we had no time to think, because the next moment – bam! We are on the ground! There's like fire everywhere, and we decide it's best to leave to shake them off our trail, so we pack and have to drag these huge bags through the forest in our pyjamas, honestly, the only reason we weren't lost is because Jake is so good at orienting in unknown grounds – and you know the rest!”

She finished, gulping some water to catch a breath, and looked at the Strider brothers in expectation, as if she thought they’d burst with ovation any second.

“Information in exchange for information,” Dane said finally. “As I promised. That man’s business card said Felt, as far as I know, it’s a bar, or a club located in Linteum.”

“Okay,” Jake said slowly. He was still kind of hoping for an ovation. “Thank you. This helps a lot.”

“Is it all true, what you've told?” Dave said finally.

“Of course,” Jade sounded offended. “We have proof. I can brew potions, and Dirk’s ring is vessel for the spirit of Void, but don't ask to activate it, we won't.”

“Is it now? I thought it was an engagement ring, and I was wondering what unlucky soul agreed to be your fiance.”

Dirk glared at him, and his fist clenched, and Jake sighed, thinking that he would have to suppress conflicts like this for four entire days.

“It’s not exactly proof if you can't _prove_ the qualities you claim are real, if you ask me,” Dane said. “But let’s pretend I believe you.”

Jade frowned. “I didn’t lie! Jade Harley never lies, and Jade Harley is me!”

“Harley on a SkaiaNet dirigible?” For the first time they heard genuine interest in Dane’s voice. “Are you, by any chance, related to Joss and June Harleys?”

Jade nodded.

“Why does that sound so familiar?... Oh, right,” Dave pretended to be hit with realization and said in an exaggerated breathy voice, “Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Harley, I love you so much, you are like angels, Christmas, and cure for cancer all at once, I wish I was there when SkaiaNet was dismantled so that I can stop you and make you adopt me–“

“Shut up, Dave,” Dirk hissed, and Dave jerked his head up.

“You don’t have any right to tell me to shut up.”

“I have all the rights I need.”

“Name one!”

“I am older _and_ I am your brother!”

Dave snorted. “Oh, are you? _Are you?_ I didn’t notice! Is it what you were trying to convey when you abandoned us for five years?”

“I didn’t know you still need me to hold your hand and guide you through the big cruel world. Choose your words, Dave, I didn’t _abandon_ you, you were happy to get rid of me.”

Dave pointed an accusing finger at him. “See, you admit it! You were concerned about your own selfish goals only, you didn’t even think about what would happen to us and the shop, how hard it would be to run it with two people instead of three. And now you are stringing this poor boy along.”

Jake stared in confusion and slight irritation. _Poor_ _boy?_

Jade opened her mouth as if she wanted to chime in, but the brothers were talking so fast she couldn’t find a gap.

“I don’t know what kind of things you’ve imagined, but leave him out of this.”

“What did you do, stalk them when you found out they were Harleys, until they accepted you?”

“I told you to leave them out of this!”

“That’s enough,” Dane cut them off, standing up between the two, who have jumped up by now and were facing each other, poses tense. “Both of you are behaving like immature children. Dave, calm yourself. Dirk, apologize.”

Dirk’s gaze snapped to Dane that instant.

“You keep taking his side in everything, don’t you? And – and you are not even his legal guardian, I know that you’ve never registered.”

“Waste two hundred pounds for a scrap of paper that has no use except for stating the obvious? I’d rather invest money into business, and that’s what I did. Anyway, if you wanted to make a shocking revelation out of it, you failed,” Dane said coldly. “Dirk Strider, you are being ungrateful. This is your chance to back off.”

“The time when I obeyed your every word is long since gone,” Dirk spat out.

“Fine, I see there’s a conflict that you desperately need to get out, so how would you prefer to solve it?”

“The old-fashioned way.”

“Bro trained me every day for the past five years,” Dave said. “What did you learn while you were away, just how to cut women’s arms off?”

Dirk reached towards his sword, and the other two mirrored his movement – and this is where Jake decided he’s had enough.

“Stop it!” He said, surprised by how much steel he managed to put in his voice. All three of them turned, as if they’ve just remembered his existence.

He stood in front of Dirk, shielding him, and addressed Dane.

“Mr. Strider, may I remind you that you are currently on our airship, and thus, you have to obey my rules. And rule number one is,” he glared at the impenetrable black glass, “Leave him alone.”

“There's no need for this,” Dirk said through gritted teeth, but Jake ignored him in favour of focusing on keeping the intimidating pose and calming down the anxiety he felt about confronting an adult and confrontations in general.

For a wild moment Jake thought Dane was going to attack him instead, but he spoke with extreme neutrality.

“My apologies,” he released the hilt of the sword, and Dirk dropped his sword as well, sending Jake a strange look, and Jake was about to ask what's wrong, but Dane's next words explained everything.

“At least you have someone kind enough to pity you,” he said, and Dirk pushed Jake aside to face him.

“The only reason I'm not continuing this conversation is because of Jake and Jade, not because of you,” he said.

“Sounds like something a man trying to avoid losing in a fight would say,” Dane said off-handedly, and Dirk's fists clenched, but he collected himself as soon as he glanced at Jake, who squeezed his wrist, trying to perform the same telepathic communication he did on the train.

“I don’t know how Dave managed to put up with you for sixteen years,” Dirk said. “I see only one way to keep this civil for the sake of our hosts. This conversation is over and preferably will not be resumed for the duration of the trip. Please, do make yourself at home.”

He grabbed the journal and his sword and marched out of the room.

The door to their bedroom slammed.

Jake met Jade’s wide-eyed gaze, and she jerked her head, as if to say, _“you started sorting this conflict out, it’s yours to finish”._

“You need to apologize,” he said, noticing that this was the first time he didn’t quail at ordering an adult something.

“With all due _respect_ ,” Dane answered in a tone that made it obvious he was questioning the word, “You don’t know the whole story, therefore you don’t have jurisdiction over deciding who should apologize to whom.”

“Tell it then,” Jade said, nodding at Jake. “I’ll listen.”

Jake made a mental note of needing to thank her later for taking this part of the conflict on herself, because right now he had a much more important task at hand.

He opened the door to their bedroom tentatively.

“Hey, can we talk?”

“Of course,” Dirk answered in a calm everyday voice.

He was sitting cross-legged, with a notepad on his lap, and some fresh sketches there.

“I’ve been thinking about some engine enhancements that will allow us to outrun any other airship in case someone wants to chase us again,” he continued. “Also we need to find a way to cover up the SkaiaNet logo, since you don’t want to erase it, maybe a canvas cover? It will also give extra protection against minor damages.”

“Sure, a cover sounds good,” Jake said, settling next to him, leaning against the wall. He thought about his next words for a while. “Dirk, I just wanted... um...”

“You don’t need to say that I’m a hysterical idiot, I know that,” he interrupted.

“What I meant to say,” Jake pressed, “is that I don’t pity you. I interfered because I wanted to defend you.”

Dirk shrugged and kept staring at the notepad.

“Just like you did with Equius and Nepeta in front of Vriska,” Jake added, making sure that his attitude, which a prideful man could translate into an attempt of humiliation, wouldn’t be misunderstood.

“Very honourable of you.”

Jake clasped his hands together. “And your word will always have more value here than anyone else’s.”

 _Except for Jade’s_ , but he didn’t say it out loud.

Dirk shook his head. “Let’s stop right here and don’t delve into a conversation that will turn into another therapy session, I've had enough of those.”

“What’s wrong with therapy? Maybe talking will help you. It certainly helps me a lot.”

Dirk sighed. “You won’t enjoy digging into the anthill that is my mind.”

Jake made sure to maintain eye contact. “Maybe I will. Try me. I have a sister, maybe I can help with relationship with your brothers.”

To his surprise, Dirk laughed.

“They are just the tip of the bullshit iceberg, a tiny bit of a problem that, ultimately, doesn’t even matter, because we are going to part after four days. The real reason for today’s shit stream is Vriska.”

“Vri– Vriska?” Jake started. “What about her?”

Dirk’s stare was heavy. “Jake, have you ever been in a fight where your life was at stake?”

“Hmm, no... We had to defend ourselves against wild animals sometimes, but not against people, not really.”

“Have you killed?”

“Of course not! If something came up, we usually... Ran away.”

He realized how cowardly it must have sounded, but Dirk nodded in approval.

“You’re a good man at heart. And as for me...”

He paused for quite some time and gazed at the ceiling.

“Did I cross the line with cutting her hand off?”

“Definitely not,” Jake answered without thinking.

He opposed death and violence, he hated seeing people suffer; but as Grandma liked to say, _when you are doing something as grand as helping the humanity, some things you do are bound to be morally ambiguous_.

“We couldn’t let her have the clock, it was the only way,” he added. “Besides, she was trying to push me.”

“Here’s another problem. There was a million other ways of doing it, I could kick her off the roof, or cut her hand a little so that she would let you go... But I chose this.”

Jake was lost, he didn’t know what to say to this. He didn’t have time to think, however, as Dirk continued.

“I could also kill her. I was this close,” he brought his fingers together, “to killing her. I’m serious. Ten centimetres to the left, and I would pierce her heart. Does it make me a bad person in your eyes yet?”

In Jake's humble opinion, nothing could ever make Dirk a bad person.

“You didn’t kill her, after all.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Dirk shook his head. “When I seek solution for a problem I flip through several legitimate plans, all of which I consider implementing, and it was one of them. I thought... If I do it, this will be the end of it, we won’t ever be cannoned or threatened by her again.”

“And in the end, you didn’t. What matters is the final choice, all the rest is just cockamamie rubbish we drop along the way,” Jake waved his hand vaguely.

Dirk looked him in the eyes. “So in your opinion, mind doesn't matter, only actions?”

“I suppose. It’s like with cliffs, you know. You are standing on a cliff, you look down, and suddenly a stray thought appears – what would happen if I jump? But you don’t really mean it, and it doesn’t make you suicidal.”

Dirk huffed a laugh.

“You are so... nevermind. But still, even leaving possible murder out of it, cutting her hand was... just so easy,” he paused and looked down at the notepad with vacant expression. “And it wasn’t even worth anything. The clock was empty, and it was all my fault.”

“How is this–“

“I allowed myself to yield to personal emotions,” he sounded as if every word was acid he was trying to spit out. “I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I can, I didn’t pay attention to the lack of underlings and other signs that would tell us we chose the wrong target. Same with Vriska, I got carried away when I should’ve been focusing on developing a better strategy. Same right now, I didn’t think the consequences _you_ have to face through, for which I apologize.”

There was a pause, and then Dirk laughed bitterly. “Shit, I think I actually did it! I’ve just had the worst day of my life, hands down. I have to mark this day in the calendar and celebrate its anniversary with fireworks and huge parade of failure, where none of the marching band's instruments work correctly and the conductor confuses a trumpet for a double bass. What an achievement.”

Jake shifted closer to Dirk tentatively. He thought about telling him that he was the most amazing man he’s ever met, and how he wished he could meet Grandma and Grandpa, because they would love him; but like he said, actions were louder than thoughts.

So Jake spread his arms in an awkward gesture, and asked, before he could change his mind, “Do you want a hug? For purely therapeutic reasons.”

Dirk watched him, with head tilted.

“If that’s for therapy... Sure, why not. Do your magical healing.”

And then he clung to Jake tightly, pressing his chin in his shoulder.

Jake let out a slow shaky breath, and brought his hands to Dirk’s back, allowing himself to revel in the moment.

“Jake, why is everything so gloom?” Dirk said after a while – Jake felt his mouth move against the fabric of his shirt, and the words came out muffled. Jake dared to stroke his hair a little.

“This is pathetic,” Dirk continued. “My past self would put a bullet in his brains if he knew what he was going to turn into.”

Jake hugged him tighter. “It’s a good thing time travel doesn’t exist then.”

“Not necessarily,” Dirk mused. “I could've fixed a lot of things if it did.”

Jake thought about the things he wanted to fix himself, the deaths he could've prevented, and gulped.

“Yeah. Me too. But you know that none of this is your fault really, there is no way you could’ve predicted the future.”

“Still, I have to face the consequences. I have to go out there,” he pointed at the direction of the kitchen, suppressing a yawn, and put his hand back on Jake’s shoulder. “Which would be the same as admitting my defeat. For some reason every time I put an end to something, I still feel like _they_ won the fight, even though I have the last word.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t think of every interaction with them as a fight?” Jake asked carefully.

“Will it be worth it though?”

“I think it will.”

Jake wanted to add that maybe Dirk should try to talk to his brothers, to make amends, because they’d understand what he was going through, but he knew what Dirk would say: _don’t project your relationship with Jade onto my relationships._

Dirk just sighed deeply without a word, pressing his nose into Jake’s shoulder, sending a new wave of sparks running under his skin.

“So... Can you share why did you really leave them? Apart from seeking opportunities?” Jake asked.

Dirk’s fingers played with the lock of Jake’s hair on the back of his head, and he closed his eyes, sinking into the feeling.

“I might as well, since we are having a feelings jam, which is a once-in-lifetime opportunity. When I lived in the commune, I felt like I was suffocating, and when we moved to Canteth, I thought it was finally over – but there still wasn’t enough space. You see, Dane and I don’t just look alike, we are very similar personality-wise. I suppose I saw a reflection of myself in him, and it sickened me. He was like a stupid self-fulfulling prophecy, an image of what I can become, and even though I wanted to be myself, I thought that the only way to win his respect was to be his mirror. And Dave... Well, he could be interested in music and other stuff Dane had no idea about without becoming the family disappointment. Don't know how he managed that; I suppose Dane focused on his upbringing more because Dave was younger and he needed him the most... That’s why I decided that my only chance to become someone was in being alone. It’s a kind of a lame thing to have a big break-up about, but it was best for everyone.”

Finally the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together; Jake was glad Dirk shared his secrets with him, and also he hoped Jade would convince Dane and Dave to make the first move, because he really wanted Dirk to find peace with his brothers. Perhaps a nice long-distance relationship would work for them.

“Thank you for telling me. I would probably leave too, if I were in your shoes,” Jake said, hoping those were appropriate words of support. And with great caution, fearing his advice would not be welcomed, he added, “But don’t you think... You have too many negative feelings towards the surrounding world?”

Dirk moved away from Jake to look directly into his eyes, but his hands were still pressed to Jake’ forearms. The contact was missed instantaneously, and at first Jake was afraid he crossed the line, that it was too much even for a feelings jam session, after all, they were not _that_ close, and why the hell his gaze flicked to Dirk's lips automatically – but then Dirk said with complete seriousness, “I know I do. Or rather, I used to have. The positive developments have begun outweighing the negative ones as of late.”

‘Since we started the spirit hunt’ was implied so heavily even Jake couldn’t miss it, so he gave Dirk the most reassuring smile he could master and said, “I’m always happy to help a friend out!”

Dirk opened his mouth to reply something, but produced a wide yawn instead of words. Right, he still didn’t get a chance to sleep properly.

“Why don’t you explain what kinds of malfunctions in the engines I should be wary about, and you get some rest?” Jake suggested. “I’ll tell you when it’s time for dinner.”

“Works for me,” Dirk said, eyeing his pillow with subdued longing – and Jake didn’t think the consequences of this request through, because Dirk released him disappointingly soon, reaching for the notepad and sketching the engines roughly, while talking over the possible defects.

“Now they’ll think I’m a coward, hiding here,” he said, marking the sketch with red ink.

“I’ll tell them I locked you up, if needed,” Jake replied.

“No need. I've dug this grave myself,” Dirk's pencil didn't stop flying over the pages as he spoke. “Thank you for listening. I've never told anyone this. You were right, it was… good to talk to someone.”

“Any time,” Jake mumbled. “And... If there's anything I can do to help with this,” he made a vague gesture, “just say it.”

Dirk shook his head with a strange, bitter expression.

“I don't think there's anything to do.”

This made Jake's hand still on the door handle. He couldn't leave just like this, when his friend was still miserable.

So he stuffed the papers into Jade's hands quickly, explaining what they were for, and went back to sit next to Dirk in a way that allowed their shoulders and thighs to press together.

“Is it okay if I read your notes about the dirigible enhancements while I'm here?” He pointed at the blueprint that Dirk put away to rub his bleary eyes. “I feel really silly for being a SkaiaNet heir and knowing next to nothing about how all those doodads work.”

This earned him a tired but warm smile, the one that almost made him forget the feeling of Vriska's blood sticking to his skin. And when Dirk nodded off later, with his head fallen on Jake's shoulder, Jake knew that's the place he wanted to be: the supporting shoulder, just like Roxy was for Jane.

***

Dave didn’t harbour any illusions; he knew he didn’t have a genius mind like Dirk or a firm understanding of reality and a business grip like Bro. But he was smart enough to know what painful spots to choose when attacking his brother: new friends – obsessive tendencies – self-worth – pride – fear of losing his nearly acquired place.

He was kind of ashamed of doing it, because despite everything that’s happened, he still loved his older brother in a way; but the wounds from his betrayal were still aching, and he wasn’t about to make the first step in making amends. After all, he was the one being betrayed.

As promised, he and Bro told Jade their side of the story – well, it was mostly Bro talking, since he was always the one to represent their household, even before their mother died (that must have been the reason why nobody listened to them in Torpos. Nobody expected a ten-year-old to understand the finesse of economics and politics, even the overly simplified second-grader-worthy version of them Torpos had).

They didn’t have an argument that day, Dirk just said he was leaving and took the bag he packed in secret. After that Dirk’s name disappeared from his and Bro’s conversations, even though Dave wondered what happened to him and whether he was even alive. If Dave knew where Dirk has gone, he would probably send him a letter or a birthday card – but he was careful to destroy any clues, he has always been exceptionally good at protecting his secrets.

On the other hand, Dirk knew where they lived, but they’ve never heard from him.

That's why Dave didn't consider the word “betrayal” to be an exaggeration (although, if he was completely honest with himself, sometimes he agreed with Dirk's notion to leave - after all, Bro's personality and presence could be overbearing).

Dave also knew that Jade wouldn't take their side in the conflict, but she was empathic enough to listen and accept their story with utter seriousness, and he found himself wishing they'd met under different circumstances, because having such an amazing friend as Jade was everything a guy could wish for. He was kind of jealous of Dirk because of that. He didn't tell her (or him) that, of course, he was too cool to admit the virtues of friendship out loud.

It was the beginning of the second day they’ve spent on the SkaiaNet dirigible, and all of this time Bro and he avoided talking to Dirk directly, like polite but not very friendly neighbours.

Dirk didn't sulk as much as he did on the train anymore, whatever Jake told him must've had effect. But nothing was forgotten, because sometimes he still stared off into the distance blankly, torturing himself with thinking about what could've been done differently, as always.

There wasn’t enough space for two more people, that’s why they had to sleep in the living room that was connected to the kitchen and the cockpit. Jade made arrangements for them – she was the one they were communicating with the most. Sometimes Jake talked to them as well, but every time he did, he looked conflicted and glanced at Dirk's direction, as if waiting for any signs of disapproval. Also there was a dog, who, surprisingly, didn’t talk – which was a shame, otherwise they would make a classic team from kids' books. And finally, there was Rose – a mysterious person whose name he was hearing rather often, but couldn’t quite grasp what her role here was.

All in all, Dave had figured out two possible explanations for the whole situation. Either all of them had gone completely nuts, or Jade and Jake really were these amazing heroes as they seemed to be according to the stories they told.

Knowing Dirk’s taste in people the latter was the most likely explanation – although he kind of doubted it, especially now, as he was watching Dirk telling a story about barbers in Avis that led to his decision to always cut his own hair, and Jake looking at Dirk as if he was explaining the deepest secrets of creation of the universe. Which meant he wasn’t paying any attention to the stove with a boiling kettle, and accidentally grabbed the spout instead of the handle when it whistled.

“You two, don’t move!” Jade yelled, and they froze: Jake cradling his burned hand, and Dirk reaching towards first aid kit.

Jade showed them the flask. “Let me try this new potion I brewed yesterday. It's my own recipe!”

“What if it burns my hand off instead of healing it?” Jake squinted at it, taking a cautious step back. “You didn’t even test it!”

“I used rue roots here, it’s scientifically proven they help regenerating the skin.”

“Proven by whom?”

“By me, that was a part of my entry work for SSC!”

“Your entry work failed,” Jake hid behind Dirk’s back when Jade tried to catch him. “Dirk, tell her!”

“Jade, I saw you dipping the mirror in it,” Dirk said calmly. “Mind doesn’t have anything to do with healing.”

“I wanted its magic to pass on into the potion!”

“The only thing that passed on was two thousand years worth of bacteria, Jade, it’s not a good idea.”

He moved Jade out of the way and took the first aid kit, while she kept complaining about lacking test subjects.

Dave has changed his mind: they were completely, undoubtfully crazy. But saying that he didn’t envy them would be a huge lie. He was curious, he wanted to know what it was like to have a lifestyle like this, to have these dangerous adventures – he was kind of glad that Vriska girl threatened to kill them. Now he could be a part of this life, instead of being stuck in a boring clockwork shop with nothing but clocks and blades (both of which were getting on his nerves lately), where the most exciting thing was making up ridiculous stories about the customers in his head and doodling comics on the receipts.

“Do you have any fresh scratches by any chance?” Jade asked Bro, who was writing in a journal – most likely calculating the profit they’d lose.

He shook his head, and Jade slumped next to Dave and showed him the flask.

“What about you?”

Dave curled his hand into a fist, so that she wouldn’t see a paper cut on his finger.

“Can’t remember any.”

She sighed and slit her palm with a sharp edge of the flask, and then dripped some liquid on the cut, over the droplets of blood that rolled out of the wound immediately.

Dave watched Dirk helping Jake wrap a bandage around his hand. That was another thing he couldn’t understand: his initial thought was that they were in some sort of relationship, because Dirk would lay hold on anyone who would look at him like this; after a while it came down to two possibilities again. Either Dirk had gone blind over the years, or he was playing a complex manipulation game.

Or, perhaps, he’s just matured; it was about time.

Either way, he wasn’t about to stick a finger in this mayhem, because of how his brother dealt with _'this human emotion you mortals call love'_.

Dave glanced at the wall with the photos, with portraits of June and Joss Harleys and their dog, and the picture of a man who was obviously Jade and Jake’s father and a woman who could be their mother (he couldn’t say for sure; they looked nothing alike) – it was quite weird to see Dirk’s face among them.

“So, your brother and my brother, huh,” Jade said, looking at him with curiosity. “Your thoughts?”

Dave raised his hands.

“My life motto is to never get involved in others’ drama if you don’t want to have grey hair by the age of thirty,” he twisted a lock of his blond hair. “And I just can’t afford losing this beauty.”

Jade smiled and jumped to her feet. “Come on, walk with me.”

She led the way from the living room towards the corridor.

When they were out of earshot distance, she said, “You can’t deny being _a little_ interested in what’s going on!”

“I suppose. Still, I have no desire to stick my hands in the middle of this mess, and that’s coming from a guy whose hands still stink from the messes they used to be elbows deep in. But I give him my brotherly blessing or whatever, not that it matters. How is the potion working for you?”

Jade brought her hand up – the cut was still fresh, but significantly smaller and clean, as if blood was never there.

“I must’ve added too much ginger… Do you think Dirk likes him?” She asked seriously.

That was an easy question. From the moment Dirk took his shades off he knew there was something more serious than ever before.

“Certainly,” he said. “He let Jake use his katana, for him it’s like a marriage proposal.”

Jade breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, they had some weapons shenanigans… That’s good. I know I like to tease Jake about it, but seeing him heartbroken would kill me. That’s so good to finally have someone to talk to about it.”

She fell silent for a few moments, bouncing on her toes, and then broke into a wide smile. “Anyway, you want to talk to your brother, right?”

The question took him off-guard.

“Uh, yes, maybe…”

Jade opened a small door that led to a closet full of trash and took an empty bottle, looking at Dave with shining eyes.

“We are going to play spin the bottle, Jade Harley rendition!”

***

As Dave expected, Bro and Dirk tried to get out of the game by saying they were busy, but Jade said “It’s obligatory” in the same voice that could be used to say “I can poison both of you, and you won’t even notice”, so they obeyed.

Jade had a both commanding and uniting attitude that made Dave think she was born to be a leader; he was surprised to learn that she wasn't officially appointed to be the leader of this strange team.

She sat them in a circle (even Becquerel joined) and put the bottle in the centre.

“Alright, people, we need to break some ice here. Rules are the same as in the spin the bottle game, but instead of kissing we’ll ask each other questions. Of course, if you want to kiss the person your bottle is pointing on I won’t object,” she winked at Jake. “Unless it's me, please don't kiss me. Also, you can’t skip your turn, because if you do, I’ll lock you up in the storage room for the rest of the day.”

Dave shivered, remembering the hole that was blown in the storage room after the dirigible's fall; they didn't have time or materials to patch in up.

Dirk sat with an expression appropriate to be worn after visiting a dentist.

Bro’s disapproval was more subtle, but still visible.

“Alright, I’ll make the first move,” Jade said cheerfully and spun the bottle, that stopped, pointing at Dave. “Hmmm, what are your hobbies?”

“I like making music and drawing comics,” he said. He remembered daring Dirk to make a tattoo of a SBaHJ character when they were kids and wondered what he thought of it now. He hoped it didn't make him want to cut his own arm off. “They have a lot of social satire that people mistake for the lack of drawing skills and morbid humour.”

“Alright, virtuoso of literature, your turn,” Jade laughed.

Dave’s bottle landed on Dirk.

Jade, who was sitting on his right, was practically beaming, which made him wonder if she had anything to do with it. Judging by Dirk’s expression, he thought the same.

“So… You’ve met John Egbert, really?”

“Yes, when we were on Halitus searching for the Breath locket,” Dirk replied. Dave knew he was trying to calculate his inferior motives for this question and the answer he should give, it was a subconscious notion for him; but alas, he had nothing to work with. It was just an innocent question asked out of curiosity.

“Not only we met him, he also owes us a favour,” Jake added suddenly. “Any kind of favour that’s within his power.”

“I can’t expect you to cash it in and wish for me to meet him? Always wanted to talk to a prince,” he addressed Jade mostly, because he knew she would laugh at the joke, unlike his brother, whose sense of humour apparently got atrophied over the years.

And indeed, Dirk answered immediately, “We are saving it for something important, Dave.”

“Like what?”

“Well,” He glanced at Jake and Jade, and Dave understood that they didn’t discuss it. “I know technically it’s Jake’s wish, but I had this idea–“

“We’ll do whatever you want,” Jake said quickly. “I mean… because you are our strategic leader, you know best, yadda-yadda,” he laughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with anybody.

Here was the answer to the leadership question: Jade listened to her brother too much, while Jake and Dirk were engaged in an act of mutual hanging on each other's words due to their unresolved attraction to each other. They were moving in a circle of stupidity that could end up with appointing the dog as the leader, Dave was sure.

“I was thinking we could use Halitus as a place to destroy the vessels, if Rose figures out how to do it. She said it will be dangerous, so we’ll ask John to evacuate his citizens, and since Halitus is an island, the mainland will be safe too, protected by distance.”

“Sounds good,” Jake said thoughtfully, and Jade nodded.

“Yes, I reckon we can do this... Anyway, don’t change the topic, it’s your turn!”

When Dirk spun the bottle, it pointed at Bro.

Dirk glared at Jade, and she smiled with such pure innocence, Dave was sure she bewitched the bottle somehow.

“Alright, Dane... How’s the shop, have you thought about switching to a more profitable field?”

“We are making enough profit, thank you,” Bro said. “In fact, we made the top twenty in sales in Canteth, although I'm sure we'll lose this achievement since you forced us to leave everything behind. But you shouldn't be too happy, I'll get back on top in no time, many people are interested in clocks and antiques.”

“Antiques are for the people who like to dig through their attics with a feather duster in search for the perfect past,” Dirk shrugged, continuing the argument simply because he wanted to have the last word, as always. “The future is in creation, in engineering.”

“Yet your current business revolves them,” Bro replied coolly.

Dave wanted to show him a sign that would tell him to cut Dirk some slack, but unfortunately, this wasn’t coded into their secret sign system.

And he didn’t need to anyway, because the next thing Jade did was say, “Alright, let’s not focus on this, Mr. Strider, Dane... Mr. Strider? Uh, you’re next.”

She stumbled on his name, even though they had friends the same age as him, and Bro regarded her with a poker face. Usually he would say he should be called Mr. Strider only once he grew a beard that would make Santa kill himself out of jealousy, but now he was obviously curious about what form of address Jade would choose. It was no surprise she ended up saying “Mister”, Bro just had this mature vibe that confused people; after all, he had to become an adult earlier than planned.

Bro’s spin landed on Jake.

And of course, the question he asked was, “What do you do for a living?”

“We travel a lot,” he replied. “I am a writer, kind of, and Jade is a would-be scientist. And actually, we have SkaiaNet inheritance, we don't really have to work,” he added after a moment of thought and glanced at Dave as well, inspecting his reaction – it was obvious that Jake wanted to impress them, to show that Dirk hangs out with the 'cool crowd'.

Of course, what he didn't know was the fact that a lack of employment had the opposite effect on Bro.

“Meaning you don’t have jobs. I see.”

“Well, no,” Jake shifted awkwardly, taken aback by the flatness of his tone, and looked at Jade, who shook her head subtly.

He glanced back at Bro, but he only said, “I’m done, who is next?”

Jake spun the bottle and laughed when it pointed at Dirk.

“Goodness gracious, I don’t know what to ask you, it’s like all the questions have evaporated from my mind!”

“You can ask me why I am so dashing,” Dirk arched one eyebrow.

Jake laughed even harder and pushed him. “You are not supposed to prompt me! Hmm, let’s see. If you had a time machine, what time period would you want to live in?”

“The future, obviously,” Dirk answered immediately. “You already know that.”

“Indeed I do. Magic toasters and possessed dirigibles?”

“Spot on.”

The exchanged small smiles, as if talking about a secret only the two of them knew.

Seeing his brother in a such a situation of domestic comfort was so strange Dave wanted to make sure he wasn't accidentally sprayed with Jade's hallucinogenic brew.

And then his and Dirk's eyes met again, because the spin landed on him.

“What happened with your hair and shades?”

Dave was surprised by how quickly he asked it, apparently the question was bothering him – and then he remembered that the last time Dirk saw him, he was Bro’s copy down to every single hair (and wore quite an embarrassing t-shirt with a huge red heart on it).

“Finding my own style,” he replied and tapped his shades. “Fate brought us together when I was walking the flea market one day, we were like Romeo and Juliet, because I was Dave motherfucking Strider, and the shades belonged of our arch nemesis, the optician, who demanded ransom for their release. And since the ransom was only three pence, I decided not to go through the trouble of taking the pretence poison, and thought – hey, it’s time to freshen up.”

Jade giggled – a sound that made Dave's heart clench.

Nobody's ever giggled at his stupid jokes like this before.

...God, he wanted to have a friend so much.

“An appropriate substitute,” Dirk nodded, and Dave gave him thumbs up, thinking that it was the closest thing to a compliment and reconciliation attempt he could get.

Or maybe he could try something else.

If his brothers didn’t want to agree with each other, perhaps they could find common ground in disagreeing?

Dave’s spin landed on Jade; he tilted his head, wiggling his eyebrows in the flirtiest way possible, and asked her, “Are you single?”

The reaction was instantaneous.

“We can stop right here!” Dirk proclaimed loudly, raising his hands; Jake stared at him in a mixture of confusion and indignation, mouth open like a dead fish; Bro turned his head so fast he could get a whiplash, saying something about being inappropriate and bad ideas of epic proportions, and Jade roared with laughter, toppling over Bec, wiping tears streaming over her cheeks.

Dave regarded them with immense satisfaction.

Ten points for you, Dave Strider, you have united these people. Time to start saving money to apply for a therapist degree.

***

For the rest of the journey – the two leftover days – Dave got kind of used to the routine on the SkaiaNet dirigible and knew that everything could be expected there. Like the fact that the dog was treated on a par with the rest of the team, that the kitchen constantly smelled like weird herbs, and the word “magic” was used with the same commonness as their names, and his brother talked more than he’s never heard him talk. Just to Jake and Jade though; no apologies were said from the brothers’ sides, but at least total ignoring was deemed unnecessary and they started talking more and more with each day, simply avoiding problematic subjects.

They were included in group activities as well, like card games and board games. To Dave's pleasure, Bro obliterated everyone in monopoly, because even though Dirk was smart, it couldn't compare to Bro's business grip that transmitted onto everything he took part in, even a silly game with fake paper money.

Thus, it was a shame when they finally arrived in Avis, which meant they were supposed to sit all the saving-the-world fun out.

Dirk led the way to a neat looking building, tall and narrow. Dave barely had the time to wonder what unfortunate accident could result in choosing the name _Centaur_ for the engineering workshop, when a small woman stormed out as soon as Dirk’s knuckles touched the door.

“Miss Leijon… Nepeta… Please let me go…” Dirk croaked when she pulled him into a bear hug, so strong that she actually lifted him off the ground.

Nepeta obeyed, but grabbed Dirk’s shoulders immediately and shook him.

“You disappeared for months and didn’t even write, not once! What was I supposed to think, with all the shit going on in the world, all the attacks and disturbances, no one knows the truth… Equius, come out and see the sunlight for once, it won’t burn you!!”

The last words were yelled at the building.

“I’m sorry about leaving you in the dark,” Dirk said. “I just didn’t have time to write you, and even if I did, the truth is too inconceivable and dangerous to pass it via a letter.”

Nepeta frowned. “Where’ve you been?”

“Here and there. We’ll explain later.”

“At least I’m glad you are not alone,” she said, glancing at the rest of the group; Jade and Jake waved and said _Hello, Miss Leijon_ in unison. “And those are…”

“My brothers, Dane and Dave,” Dirk said, pointing at them respectively. “And these are Nepeta Leijon and Equius Zahhak,” he introduced Nepeta and the man who has just shown up at the doorway.

“Hello, Dirk,” he said, wiping his hands off the greasy apron. “Are you coming back?”

“Not yet, I’m just dropping them off. I reckon they can live in my room and help you out with the workshop while I’m away, is it possible?”

“Of course,” Nepeta said, taking no time to think. “I’ll make tea, and you’ll tell what’s happened.”

The tea was good, and the house they, apparently, were going to live in for god knows how long, was acceptable, a cluttered mess Dave has always associated with Dirk. Dave was sure his feet were bruised with how many bolts and nails he stepped on accidentally.

Nepeta and Equius listened to their story carefully; unlike the first time Dave heard it, Jake and Jade barely said a word, it was mostly Dirk talking, and for some reason in his interpretation it didn’t sound as fun and adventurous as they initially thought. He focused on Vriska and the threat she posed, and Nepeta looked at Dave and Bro with the sort of motherly concern Dave saw for the first time.

“How is the workshop? Got any new projects?” Dirk asked Equius, after he gave them some time to think everything they’ve heard through.

“Not that much, since I have to do most of the work myself, and I don’t have time for every client, and Nepeta forces me to sleep at least five hours a day,” he glanced at her quickly. “But we manage.”

“Sorry I left you so spontaneously,” Dirk actually sounded guilty for once; and Dave couldn’t resist exchanging glances with Bro. He was sure they were equally surprised at Dirk’s ability to produce words like ‘I’m sorry.’

“Like I said, it’s not a disaster,” Equius said. “However, I’ll appreciate if you get back to work as soon as possible.”

“I will,” Dirk reassured and pushed his empty mug away, “as soon as we finish this mission. Now, before we go, there are some instructions I want everyone to know, especially the two of you.”

He looked everyone over, and his gaze lingered on Dave and Bro.

“First of all, if anything strange happens, that you think might have a connection to the kind of magic we are working with, contact Rose, she is know under the alias of Tentacle Therapist here. She has a way to reach us. Secondly, you don’t know Jake and Jade, never met them, never heard their names. Thirdly, Dane...” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I will need to ask you about a thing. You will be me, if anyone asks, your name is Dirk Strider, and you’ve been working here for the past five years.”

“And why should I do that?” Bro raised one eyebrow pointedly.

“I don’t know how it’ll benefit us yet, but in any case, it’s best to confuse our opponents as much as possible.”

Dave wondered what kind of opponents beside Vriska they had, and whether all of them wanted to kill him. Suddenly he felt very worried.

“I’ll do it,” Bro said, nodding in approval, recognizing the same words he used to say when Dirk and Dave were kids.

“Thank you,” Dirk said seriously. “With our appearances, it should be easy. And finally... Just take care and remember that Rose is your means of protection.”

Dave huffed; whom he was taking them for?

“We don’t need a mysterious magician to defend us, all of us here know how to fight, right?”

Nepeta nodded eagerly, and Dirk pursed his lips.

“Still, talk to Rose. She can contact us directly at any time.”

“How can she do it, might I ask?” Equius asked.

“I’ve installed a transmitter on the dirigible, it intercepts radiowaves and prints out telegrams.”

“Intriguing,” Equius sounded impressed, and suddenly a toolbox appeared out of nowhere in his hands. “Take your tools, I will assist you with fixing the dirigible, and you will show me the enhancements you made. Dave, Dane, join us, you will need to know the basics of repair works.”

Dave sighed and grabbed one of the many stray wrenches that seemed to be scattered all around the house.

He has never shown any talent in engineering; however, he couldn’t help but welcome a change of environment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Wipes away tears of motherly pride* Look at my boy Jake, learning how to stand up for someone he cares about...  
> I enjoyed writing Dave's POV so much. This story really needed an outsider's POV.  
> Also, let's appreciate Jade being the best at holding everyone's shit together.
> 
> Anyway, here's the moral for this chapter: murder is bad. Don't do it, kids.
> 
> As usual, huge thank you to everyone who leaves kudos, comments and creates amazing art for this story - if you're interested, check it out in [waoheas tag](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/tagged/waoheas) on my tumblr.  
> Also, be honest with me, guys: do you laugh when you read this fic? I try to write funny scenes and lines too, and I hope they lighten the story... Perhaps not in this chapter, but in earlier ones.


	9. The Felt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some more secrets are won and a new key figure is re-introduced.

Jake stumbled into the dirigible and threw his bag so hard it rocketed through the living room into the kitchen and knocked the stand with the knives off.

“I take it your meeting didn’t go well?” Dirk frowned, and Jade looked at him as well, losing interest in the Spirit Guide she was rereading for the twentieth time.

When they arrived to Linteum – the town where the Felt club was located – after leaving the Striders with Equius and Nepeta, Jake suggested they go and arrange a meeting with Caliborn (judging by the way nobody mentioned his last name Jake figured Dave was right and it must be an alias), who apparently was the boss there. But as it turned out, he was the only volunteer.

Jade proclaimed that she deemed scheduling boring and wanted to inspect the surroundings of the new town, and tried to convince Dirk and Jake to go alone (with a lot of excessive and unneeded winking). But just when Jake got excited at the prospect of spending some time alone with Dirk, he said he needed to check the engines: he wasn’t sure some of the enhancements Equius helped him make functioned correctly. Even Bec turned his back on Jake, but that wasn’t a surprise, he and Jade were inseparable.

That’s why Jake has found himself standing alone in front of a large menacing building resembling a castle, where the Felt was located, the stink of cigarette smoke strong even outside. He hasn't even spoken to Caliborn directly; when he knocked at the door, his bodyguard or personal assistant came out and said he was too important of a person to accept random people (“Especially someone looking like this,” she said, nose wrinkled, looking over Jake’s crumpled clothes and messy hair).

However, once he mentioned SkaiaNet and wanting to make a deal of a lifetime, she said that once he makes his appearance socially acceptable, she would arrange a meeting for him – but that wasn’t the reason Jake was fuming with anger.

“You want to know what this place is? A bloody gentlemen club! And when I told them about our team, they said their main policy is no women allowed!”

Jade huffed in indignation. “Bastards, and I thought places like these were left in the past.”

“What did you do, beat them up?” Dirk asked.

“Yes, but like, with words instead of fists. Told them their ideas were antediluvian, Jade’s gun was bigger than any of theirs, and either they talk to all of us or none of us.”

“And?”

“And they kicked me out,” Jake sighed.

“Alright then, let’s go and teach those pricks a lesson…” Jade picked up her rifle, but, to Jake’s surprise, her expression turned thoughtful after a moment, and she put it away. “Or maybe not. I mean I would love to, but after we get the cogwheel. Maybe it’ll be the best not to disturb the deal, it could be our only chance to get the cog peacefully.”

“Are you sure?” Jake was worried, he would hate if the Felt members thought they succumbed to their demands.

“Absolutely,” Jade was deep in thought for a while longer and then smiled in a dangerous way. “Believe me, I know what I will be doing.”

Jake turned to Dirk for support, but to his disappointment he said, “I agree with Jade. The less they know the better, she will be an ace up our sleeves.”

Jake inspected Jade, trying to figure out if it was another one of her matchmaking schemes where she wanted to send them on an errand by themselves, but he scratched that idea as soon as he saw the look on her face.

“Right-o, so, there’s two of us,” Jake said, returning to the task at hand, looking at Dirk. “They also have a dress-code.”

“Okay,” he shrugged, looking over his thick brown coat. “This should do.”

Jade snorted. “Dude, dress-code means you have to wear a suit. _That_ is not a suit.”

Dirk’s hand clenched over the coat’s collar in a defensive gesture. “It’s a quality product, I paid fifty quid for it.”

“Yeah-yeah, we all know about your tender relationship with your favourite coat. Just so you know, proper suits cost at least three hundred quid.”

“Fine, Jake can lend me one,” Dirk shrugged.

“I would be happy to, but I don’t even have one for myself...” Jake said, looking over a black coat with silver buttons and trying to figure out whether it could be considered a suitable substitute. He didn’t pack any nice clothes because he wasn’t exactly planning on having to go to high-class restaurants over the course of their travelling.

“Yes you do,” Jade said suddenly and rummaged through a closet, muttering something under her breath.

Finally she pulled out something rolled in a paper bag with a victorious “Ha!”, and threw it at Jake.

He unwrapped the paper and stroked the old green wool of his Grandpa’s suit, unable to hide his surprise.

“Why on Earth did you bring this along?”

“I don’t know, I always pack for all weathers and occasions,” Jade said.

Jake stared at her. “Then why the hell didn’t you give it to me at Jane and Roxy’s wedding?! I looked ridiculous there, and I wanted to leave a good impression!”

Jade crossed her arms on her chest. “Because Jane and Roxy are normal people who let their guests wear whatever they’re comfortable with, unlike some. As for you, Dirk, you can always buy one.”

Dirk settled in the pilot’s seat, obviously not excited about going. “Actually, I would rather stay as a secret backup with Jade in this case, I don’t really want to waste money on clothes I’m never going to wear again.”

“Don’t be daft,” Jade rolled her eyes and handed him a pack of bills from the vault. “It’s not like you use our money for your personal gain, it’s for the benefit of the team.”

Dirk eyed the money with a slight scowl and threw one last hesitating glance at Jake, as if his opinion would settle the matter.

Jake smiled sheepishly, saying, “Actually, your company would be welcomed in that intimidating house.”

“Alright then,” he stashed the money and the map in his coat’s pocket. “No idea how long it’ll take, so you go ahead and start without me. You are more familiar with this high-class business shit, so go and lay the foundation for the deal, and I'll come in to slam the probably unneeded final word.”

“Unneeded?” Jake echoed, frowning.

“Let's be real here,” Dirk replied, putting his shades on and pushing the door open, “you grew up in SkaiaNet, the rules of conducting business should be ingrained in you on a genetic level.”

Jake shrugged; perhaps Dirk was right, but he didn't know that the moral support and confidence he unknowingly provided helped him better than any training ever could.

As soon as Dirk left Jake spent at least half an hour digging through his clothes to find golden cufflinks and a single striped tie that didn’t quite match the rest of the ensemble, but it was better than nothing.

He realized that going to the Felt would be the first time he would utilize the manners and skills that were inculcated in him since childhood, like the appropriate time to pull up a chair for a companion, or what a fish fork looked like and why it couldn't be used to eat turkey.

Jake also realized Dirk was right; with their upbringing he and Jade could be considered members of the upper class on a par with the people hanging out in the Felt, even though he’s never deemed himself to be a part of the richies.

After a couple of failed attempts to comb his hair in an appropriate way, he knocked at the door of the green building again. The same woman he talked to earlier opened the door; she was wearing a long green dress (which seemed to be a theme colour; he was so glad for his suit), her long black hair tied into a neat bun.

Her heavily mascara’d eyes regarded him coldly, and Jake wondered briefly how did she manage to secure a position here.

“You are late,” she said, turned around, and started walking through the silent corridor, the clacking of her high heels reverberating through, which prompted Jake to follow.

“I apologize, Ma’am, but I was under the impression that you didn’t set time for me?”

She was so tall Jake had to crane his neck to look at her.

“A person who doesn’t set time for their appointments themselves will always be considered late. You should’ve expressed the initiative. Consider it a lesson free of charge, before you have to start paying a much heavier price.”

That sounded ominous, and Jake swallowed thickly, feeling uneasy, and regretting going in without waiting for Dirk.

The corridor they were walking was long and wide, illuminated by faint yellowish light of the chandeliers that made the green wallpaper seem gloomy and dark. They passed many identical doors, and Jake could hear men conversing in muffled voices behind them. The smell of tobacco mixed with resin and whiskey tickled Jake's nose, and he scrunched it.

However, the woman seemed completely unfazed.

“Could I ask your name, Ma’am?” Jake asked.

“Names are overrated,” she answered. “In here, please.”

She opened a heavy wooden oak door in the end of the corridor for him, but didn’t follow.

The door revealed a large room in same brown and green colours, decorated with rare wood, with several men in suits and top hats speaking in hush tones, sitting at the bar counter where a bartender served them whiskey. Some of the men were at separate tables tossing cards, and there was a pool table. It reminded Jake of the day Jade and he went to hire the Midnight Crew, and despite Jake being much older, the atmosphere was still rather unnerving.

There were several portraits hanging on the wall, but they were too far away for Jake to make out the faces; the rest of the walls were decorated with pretty tasteless paintings. Jake found himself unable to look away from the closest one, shocked by how weird it looked and trying to figure out what a bunch of cringeworthy scribbles were supposed to symbolize.

“You are gravely wrong if you think I have time to spare for people to ogle my fine arts,” a voice said.

Jake’s head whipped to the side; while being too focused on staring at the painting, he missed the man sitting at the table right next to him completely.

It was Caliborn, no doubt; Dave’s unflattering characteristic was spot-on. The most eye-catching thing was his bright red cheeks, like he was constantly embarrassed by something; his eyes were dark brown, and it might have been a trick of light, but Jake could swear he saw a glint of red.

Caliborn looked him over with clear distaste, eyes lingering on worn pieces of the old material. Unconsciously, Jake tried to cover the sleeves up when he sat at the table across him.

“Pleasure to meet you, sir,” Jake said and extended his hand.

It wasn’t a pleasure at all, of course, and calling him “sir” seemed weird – was it the round face or his shortness, but Caliborn looked very young – although he must have been at least Dirk’s age to run a place like this.

“Down to business, Jake English,” Caliborn ignored his hand, and Jake dropped it awkwardly. “What is it that you want? That made you come all the way from Nocteville to see me?”

He was parcelling out his sentences, and it that made them sound extra harsh.

“It came to my knowledge that you are currently in possession of a certain artefact, an ancient cogwheel that you’ve recently acquired from a shop called Turntech. I would like to buy it from you.”

“Is that all? I see,” he replied slowly, inspecting Jake all over, tone slightly disappointed. “So you are a waste of time after all. The cogwheel will not be yours. End of discussion.”

Jake’s mind raced, searching for a way that could convince him.

“But I am willing to pay a lot! You might not realize it, but I have a rather significant fund-“

“I know what you have,” Caliborn interrupted. “Jake English, SkaiaNet heir. You have nothing that interests me. Which means this talk is over.”

“I have other artefacts, most of them of great archaeological value,” Jake said hopelessly.

Caliborn looked at him with disgust. “What do I look like to you, a filthy collector? Knee-deep in dirt, digging to find trash other filthy collectors will call valuable?”

“You did get the cogwheel, you must’ve valued how priceless it is.”

“The cog belongs to Felt. Which means it belongs to me. And I am not to part with what I own,” he drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. “Like my valuable time that you are currently wasting. I shouldn’t have given in to Handmaid’s demands and received you. Now leave before I call the guards.”

Despite being seemingly out of earshot, the men around them turned to Jake, pinning him down with heavy stares. He moved his hand closer to the handle of the pistol just in case, and Caliborn's narrowed eyes followed the movement.

“There must be something that can convince you to sell the cog?” Jake said stubbornly, showing no intention to move away, despite noticing every single one of the men carrying guns. All, except for one, who was holding a crowbar for some reason.

Caliborn shrugged with complete disinterest, eyes not leaving the spot where Jake's pistol was hidden.

“I suppose there is one option. I can propose a duel. Each gun is loaded with one bullet,” despite the words, his voice was bored. “The winner stays alive and gets the cog. The loser is reunited with his mother. Because of death.”

Jake was too concerned about the prospect of being shot (no doubt Caliborn wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger) to ask how he could find out about his mother.

“Perhaps we can avoid death by substituting the duel with something else, a round of fisticuffs, for example? It's a perfect example of a civilized gentlemanly recreation activity,” Jake tried to sound calm and pleasant, despite the nervous clench of his stomach.

Caliborn’s expression was almost offended.

“What’s the point of a fight if death of one of the opponents isn’t the outcome? It only proves my point. Our methods are too different for us to agree on something. Now, I will tell you to leave one last time. And it truly will be the last.”

Jake inhaled, panicking slightly, not knowing what else to say, but he was saved the clanking of the heels drawing near again. The woman (apparently, her alias was ‘Handmaid’) said, “You have a new visitor, sir.”

Jake exhaled, feeling great relief; Dirk would definitely find a way to help him climb out of the hole he’s dug out accidentally.

“Oh, that must be Dirk, my… uh, business partner...”

He had to trail off because Dirk looked downright gorgeous in a suit.

It was a nicely fitted black three-piece completed with a bow-tie, which had a weird (but goddamn attractive) contrast with the shades and the sword hanging off his shoulder. The glistening golden chain of the Void ring was visible under the collar.

Just like Jake, Dirk's gaze fell on the fascinatingly awful painting the minute he stepped inside the room, and his mouth twisted, as if he barely resisted a snicker.

“Hey, Dirk,” Jake didn’t even register standing up. “Do you, uh, need a chair?”

“I get to decide here who gets a chair and who doesn’t,” Caliborn said and snapped his fingers at Handmaid, who brought an extra chair to their table that instant.

“Hey, Jake,” Dirk tipped his shades and winked at him, and then added louder, “That poor woman. What did she do to deserve a restricted access here?”

“She belongs to the Felt,” Caliborn answered, looking Dirk over with assessing eyes. “Which means she belongs to me and serves me. Just like everything else around here. But the service contract that binds us is a double-edged sword. Which means I can’t get rid of her to make it a proper club.”

He finished the last sentence with a grimace, and Dirk regarded him in clear distaste.

“So you must be Caliborn. Dave was right when he said you look like a kid who’s eaten too many beets.”

Jake threw a warning glance at him, but he didn’t catch it.

The corners of Caliborn’s mouth dropped down. “You have no name. And no idea how to talk to people overpowering you.”

“Maybe not, but I know how to talk to people who deny entrance to my friend Jade.”

Jake couldn’t resist giving Caliborn a victorious smile, forgetting about all his manners at once. A person who treated Jade like shit didn’t deserve them.

He was so glad Dirk was on his side, now it was only a question of time before they got the cog.

The only thing that bothered him _a lot_ was the way Caliborn looked at Dirk, like he wanted to eat him or murder him, or maybe both.

“This is my turf, and I make the rules here. Rule number one is. No women will disturb the atmosphere of seriousness and rationality in Felt.”

Jake cringed. “Dirk, he said he won’t sell the cogwheel.”

Caliborn spared a glance at him. “Who said that?”

“You did, a minute ago!”

“You must be pretty dumb. So I will graciously repeat my words. You don’t have anything that interests me. _You_ , however...”

He turned back to look Dirk over from head to toe as if he was a rare museum exhibit. Jake shifted closer to Dirk, ready to shield him.

Caliborn leaned in, speaking in a low voice. “How _far_ are you willing to go to get that cogwheel?”

Savage hate boiled inside Jake instantly; this was the first time he wanted to strangle someone.

Dirk mimicked Caliborn's pose and voice. “Oh, you have no idea _how_ far.”

He sounded dangerous, and his hand touched the handle of the sword in a not so subtle gesture.

They stared at each other for a while, and finally Caliborn leaned back, with his cheeks even redder than before.

“I want you to play a game,” he said.

“What kind of game?” Jake wanted to transfer at least part of the hit on himself.

Caliborn looked at him with pity. “Not you, him. And it’s the best kind of game there is. Where if you win you get what you want, that is the cogwheel. And if I win, I get want I want, which is everything else. And the game itself is the noblest form of gentlemanly entertainment. Pool.”

That was a relief; pool was something Jake knew how to play since childhood.

“Maybe I should be playing instead? I will be the representative of our business partnership, as well as _just partnership_ ,” Jake singled out the last words to make sure the line between Dirk and Caliborn was obvious, but Caliborn barely reacted.

“Playing with you will be like punching a baby. If I wanted to get the experience I would punch an actual baby.”

“Don’t talk to him like this,” Dirk frowned. “Didn’t your parents teach you manners?”

“My _father_ did. My mother wasn’t around that much. She is quite irrelevant, however. Because of being dead. Do you accept my conditions or not?”

“Why the hell not. Jake, will you explain the rules?”

Caliborn jeered and snapped fingers at his assistant again, who brought a spare cue. He must be thinking that this will be an easy victory, and Jake couldn’t help but agree.

“Dirk, you’ve never even played pool, how are you going to win?” He asked after explaining what moves would result in a foul, panicking slightly. They stood outside Caliborn’s earshot, who was setting the pool table.

“My marksmanship is pretty good, how hard can kicking some balls in holes can be?” He was looking at the cue over with an expression of a person clearly seeing nothing but a piece of wood. “It’s just physics, calculating the angles, all that stuff.”

“Still, the stakes are pretty high. What if you lose? He will...” Jake struggled to find words. “Get you into slavery or whatnot.”

Dirk stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder, speaking even quieter.

“Jake, you are taking this _way_ too seriously. He is just a guy who insults everyone and wants to play big boss. It doesn’t matter whether I win or not, we are leaving with the cog. We’ll fight out way out if we need to, I’ll just play along peacefully for now, because that's what we agreed on before going in here. Although I’d appreciate it if you distract him when he’s aiming,” he hummed.

It was as if a load was taken off Jake’s mind; he didn’t even realize he was thinking the situation only had two outcomes, completely forgetting the third one: to make their own rules.

He smiled at Dirk gratefully; that’s what he meant, Dirk’s mere presence was reassuring.

“Will do, sir,” Jake saluted. He would keep his gun on standby, and if he saw Caliborn making a wrong move towards Dirk, he’d shoot.

“By the way,” Dirk smirked just as they were about to turn around. “You’re looking pretty striking in this suit.”

“Oh, I...” Jake tugged at his cufflinks nervously, the room suddenly becoming too hot and stuffy. “Thank you.”

“Hey you, stop talking!” Caliborn yelled from the pool table. “Tick-tock, time is running away. Every second is wearing your precious cogwheel out!”

Dirk raised his eyebrows and headed to the table, Jake followed, thinking about ways to prompt Dirk if he gets stuck, while trying not the stare at the way expensive black fabric tugged his thighs.

“Actually, that’s not true,” Caliborn continued, taking the triangle off the balls and performing a break shot. “You want to know the reason I wanted it so badly. It’s always belonged to the Felt clock. And the legend says this clock will work till the end of time itself. Deciding the fates of people in this damned world. Until there’s no life left to show if its end was heroic or just.”

Caliborn cursed under his breath; it seemed he was to preoccupied with showing off and his break shot resulted in the cue ball rolling in one of the pockets, which meant in was Dirk's turn.

“Amusing story,” Dirk said flatly and muttered _“fuck”_ when the ball he stroke missed the pocket completely.

Jake barely resisted slapping a hand on his forehead, because _nobody_ should ever be allowed to hold a cue as if it was a friggin _golf club_.

Caliborn smirked and aimed his cue at a red ball, and Jake quickly mastered up a random thing to say.

“My sister is a great pool player, you would have enjoyed playing with her.”

Caliborn huffed and stroke a ball that bounced off the side of the table and rolled into a pocket smoothly. “Sisters are overrated. Like names. Actually, everything’s overrated. That’s why I chose a wise course of action of not giving a single fuck about most things.”

He looked at Dirk again, waiting for him to be impressed. Failing to get a reaction, he aimed at another ball, and that’s when Jake asked, “What happened to your sister?”

Caliborn’s hand slipped on the cue, and the strike was too strong, knocking both the cue ball and the ball off the table, resulting in a foul. Dirk showed him thumbs up discreetly.

“How the fuck did you find out about my sister?!” Caliborn growled, clenching the cue so hard Jake was afraid it might break.

“Lucky guess,” he said, taking a cautious step back.

It really was; he didn’t expect to hit a bullseye with a random remark and get such a violent reaction.

However, Caliborn eyed him intensely and didn’t seem to find any ulterior motives or secret knowledge Jake could’ve possessed, so he said, “She’s dead. Natural causes.”

“Oh no, what happened?” Jake asked. Despite Caliborn being a horrible person, he felt sorry for him. Maybe losing his sister was what made him go evil, after all, if there’s anything adventure novels taught him, it was that every villain had a tragic backstory.

“A gunshot. She tripped and fell on her own pistol,” Caliborn didn’t even try to deliver the emotion of regret.

Now Jake was sure he was the worst person he’s ever met.

“You bastard,” Dirk muttered, focused on hitting the ball; this time he almost succeeded, but it still bounced off without touching the pocket.

“What? I didn’t have anything to do with it. My hands are clean!” He showed his palms for emphasis.

It was Caliborn’s turn again, and Jake looked around to find a new topic to distract him with, and his gaze fell onto the row of portraits on the further wall.

“Who are they?” He asked, walking up to them.

“The previous owners,” Caliborn waved him off and addressed Dirk again with a condescending tone. “My portrait is the biggest, of course. Since I am the lord and master of this place. And I own everything. Including the photographer. You see, when I told English I am not a collector, I lied. Because he wouldn’t understand the intricate workings of my mastermind. I collect people to serve me at the Felt mansion. Who are remarkable and useful. And you are good,” he said, watching Dirk knocking the ball perfectly on merely the third try. “Very good. You could be one of them,” he made a vague gesture towards the group in green suits who returned to their own business, “or you could have a new role, just for you.”

Jake resisted the urge to groan, and focused on the pictures.

“I’d much rather have my head cut off and stuffed with my intestines,” Dirk said coldly and knocked in another ball.

“This can be arranged,” Caliborn said.

Dirk must have answered something, but Jake couldn’t hear – he went cold the moment he spotted painfully familiar blonde curls, and all his senses sharpened in a single point of a picture of a young woman.

Without being aware of what he’s doing, he found himself ripping the frame off the wall carelessly, along with a piece of wallpaper, to stare at the face of his mother close.

“The fuck are you doing ruining my-“

“Do you know who this is?!” Jake took two huge steps and practically shoved the picture in Caliborn’s face.

His heart was beating so fast it could jump out any second.

Caliborn cringed. “You are so dumb. I’ve told you a second ago that those are the pictures of the previous owners. Make a damn connection.”

“What’s wrong?” Dirk frowned, pushing Caliborn aside and peering at the picture as well. “Is that...”

“That’s my Mom!” Jake shook the picture vigorously. It was black-and-white and was taken in front of the Felt mansion. A much younger Handmaid was visible in the background.

“I know that. Anna English is the mother of Jake English, who would’ve guessed,” Caliborn said in a mocking tone. “Honestly, at first I thought you came to duel me for inheritance. I mean, you’ve even dressed up in the battle gear,” he pointed at Jake’s suit. “But now I see you are such an idiot you didn’t even know that I-“

“Shut up,” Dirk’s voice was steely, and he turned back to Jake. “So your mother used to be the Felt’s owner, so what. It happened a shitload of time ago, your grandparents probably didn’t think it was important enough to tell you.”

Jake stared at him, wondering how the hell Dirk could guess his thoughts before they even appeared in his mind.

“I know, but...”

Jake was so used to thinking he knew everything about his family, a surprise like this was a low blow.

Why did his mother ever wanted to own such a horrible place?

Although, because Caliborn called her Anna English, not Anna Harley, it must have happened even before she met their father, so it made it okay. He probably recommended her to stay away from a shady business like this.

Jake took a deep breath and told himself to calm down.

Everything was fine. Perfectly explainable.

“But you weren’t supposed to be the next in line of inheritance,” Dirk said suddenly, still deep in thought and twisting the cue idly, forgetting about pool completely. His voice had a strange edge to it, as if he considered the mystery intriguing rather than unnerving. “After Anna Harley died, the ownership was passed to someone else, since Jake and Jade were too young – most likely to someone who was her friend, correct?” He pointed at the portrait of a man with a vaguely familiar face that was hanging on the wall next to Anna’s photo. “And that friend was supposed to pass it on to someone else who supported her beliefs, and instead they got you... My guess is that it was to be your sister?”

Caliborn looked at him in appreciation. “Correct, for the most part. You were right about my sister. For some reason everyone’s always liked her more than me, even our parents... Not that it did her any good. With her being dead. But Bryan wasn’t Anna’s friend, obviously. Because friendship between a male and a female is an absurd idea that can never work. It can only result in one relationship. The dirtiest type of co-dependency which people glorify for a reason unbeknown to me. And, of course, I have more rights to own this place than you think. But you’re still good, despite these major miscalculations. I grant you my approval.”

Jake finally tore himself away from staring at the picture and calculating Mom’s age to look at Caliborn, realizing he hasn’t understood a word he said (co-dependency? What did he even mean?), and pulled the photo out, stashing it inside his coat's pocket. He looked at Dirk, hoping he’d explain something, but Dirk’s frown deepened, probably because he was confused as well, or because he didn’t like being wrong in so many details.

“What are you getting at, Dirk?” Jake asked.

“I bet she wanted you to have the cog. If it is Felt’s famous relic, she must’ve known its _real_ value and wanted to pass it to you.”

Jake shook his head slowly, thinking it through. “No, she didn’t believe ma... the _thing_ existed. If she did, she would’ve told Grandma and Grandpa, and they would’ve told Jade and me.”

It was obvious Dirk wanted to cite more arguments but couldn’t, in fear of Caliborn hearing more they could allow him to.

“I have no idea what nonsense you are yammering about,” Caliborn said. “But you are wrong. See, Dirk, saying intelligent things isn’t the same as being smart. You are wrong, yet again, because Anna didn’t want to pass the cog to anyone. She was the one getting rid of it. Dropping it off in some godforsaken town.”

Jake looked at Dirk, wishing now more than ever to get out of here and discuss everything freely with him and Jade.

“Anyway,” Caliborn said. “Don’t think I don’t know stalling when I see one. You are just trying to get of the game. Because you are afraid of losing.”

“Don’t kid yourself, I’ve lost interest in your stupid game the moment it began,” Dirk said thoughfully.

“You are saying this only because the score is in my favour. Afraid of losing fair and square like we agreed on. Of course, you can always give up and accept my superiority. Deep down you must know it’s the best way for you,” Caliborn raised at eyebrow, clearly tantalizing him.

Dirk’s mouth twitched, and he grabbed the cue like a sword. “You want fair? Fine. Jake, hang on a minute, it’s my turn, if I get all seven of these balls at once, I’ll win and we’ll leave.”

Caliborn smirked and his eyes darkened as he watched Dirk bending over the table and squinting at a ball. “Do you seriously think you can do this? Not that I prohibit this. It will be fun to see you try. But you must know that I’m accustomed to getting what I want.”

“And _I_ always win,” Dirk replied and stroke a ball that landed perfectly into a pocket.

Jake really wanted to stay with him – to act as protection, to cheer at least, but he caught a glimpse of Handmaid through the open door and knew he wouldn’t forgive himself if he didn’t ask her.

He caught her just as she was about to leave, and showed her the photo.

“Did you know my Mom?”

She hesitated, as if not knowing what to say, and finally uttered a short “Yes.”

There were so many questions Jake wanted to ask, but he could manage only one.

“What she was like?”

“A good person who died an unfair death.”

“Do you... know what happened to her?” Jake asked.

“Nobody knows,” she glanced at Caliborn nervously, opened her mouth, but closed it again after a moment.

“I have to go,” she said, her voice icy again.

“Wait!” Jake caught her arm, and she ripped it away with a scandalized expression. “Sorry, Ma’am... But we can help you leave this place if you want.”

“I don’t need a saviour,” she replied sharply. “I belong to Englishes and Felt just like you belong to the Harleys and SkaiaNet.”

“But I am an English,” Jake tilted his head, but Handmaid merely scoffed.

“A mere technicality that doesn’t reflect the truth. I’ve already told you, legal names don’t carry much weight around here. You can call yourself anything you want, it doesn’t mean a thing. First and foremost you are a Harley, unless you find a miraculous way to alter your blood.”

Jake didn’t like the way she said the name, like it was something bad.

He liked this place less and less. The people here were too strange, and their mysteries weren’t fun, they were creepy. Jake wished Dirk would finish sooner, so they could leave for the protection of the dirigible.

“Were you Mom’s friend?” Jake asked, because that was something in need to be asked.

For the first time something like sadness appeared in her narrow eyes.

“I will give you another advice, because it seems you can’t figure it out on your own,” she said. “Do you know how my family and I stayed alive in time when the rain of blood was taking out the best? We kept quiet and didn’t stick our noses in others’ businesses, and didn’t allow the need for stupid heroism to overtake our lives. This also included asking unnecessary questions. That’s what I keep doing now, and I only wish my daughter would know when is the right time to stop... Now good day, sir,” she bowed and left quickly, before he could stop her and ask what the hell did she just say. Veiled explanations seemed to be this place’s shtick, and it was the most uncomfortable quirk Jake's ever encountered.

Jake sighed and looked around the interior again, trying to ignore the strangeness in lieu of seeing it in the new light: his mother used to own it, to walk here, maybe she and Dad even met here... He’s never asked his grandparents about the details of their first meeting, he was too young.

And now it was far too late.

He trudged back to the pool table, and saw Caliborn watching Dirk with a mix of resentment, desire, and another strange emotion, something like recognition – just as Dirk aimed at the eight-ball and knocked it right into its place.

Dirk threw the cue on the table forcefully and extended an open palm.

“I won, like I said I will,” he spoke abruptly. “Follow your own rules and give us the cogwheel.”

Caliborn snarled and crossed his arms. “The only reason you won was because I allowed you to. Out of pity. We need to replay.”

“No way!” Jake exclaimed, bouncing on his toes and eager to leave. “Dirk’s exceptional victory was fair and square! Give us the cogwheel!”

Caliborn regarded them silently with narrowed eyes, thinking everything through, and finally said. “I still want you to consider joining me willingly, Dirk Strider. We are one and the same, after all. It’ll be more rational than hanging out with likes of him.”

“The cog,” Dirk pressed and wiggled his fingers.

Caliborn huffed and went to a huge grandfather’s clock, and after rummaging in it, he took out a small cogwheel. The clock stopped ticking instantly, but Caliborn didn’t give it to them straight away.

“Honesty for honesty. Why were _you_ searching for the cog?”

“We are clock enthusiasts and our dream is to build the ultimate clock,” Dirk answered flatly.

“I am not an idiot.”

“Now _that_ is shocking news.”

Caliborn’s eyes narrowed so much their brown colour was barely visible, and Dirk ripped the cog out of his hand, looking it over quickly and ensuring it had the symbols.

“Come on, Jake,” he said firmly, and Jake hurried after him before Caliborn could call on his henchmen. He didn’t seem inclined to do so and let him walk out without another word, but his look was positively murderous.

With great relief Jake inhaled a lungful of fresh smokeless air as soon as they stepped out of the mansion.

The darkness covered the park completely while they were inside; now there was only the moon shedding dim light on the tree tops and the path that led to the dirigible standing nearby. The lights were turned on, and Jake could see Jade’s and Bec’s silhouettes moving inside.

As soon as they walked a safe distance away from the mansion, Jake blurted out a question that was on the tip of his tongue.

“Why do you reckon Mom knew about the spirits? She couldn’t have, and you heard him, she got rid of the cog.”

“I admit, it threw me off too. But think about it, if the Felt had a whole legend dedicated to their clock being invincible, and your grandparents researched legends like this, she must’ve put two and two together.”

Jake shivered – the air was chilly, he could almost feel the autumn just around the corner. He was glad to wear a woollen suit.

He searched for something to contradict Dirk – it seemed like the most important thing.

“Maybe it’s just obvious for us, since we know so much about magic. Grandma’s always said that Mom wasn’t easy to convince, unlike Dad, who grew up with their stories about impossible things.”

“No offence,” Dirk said, “But it seems that you are simply trying to come up with an excuse for her. Don’t you see it? Almost everything in this story revolves around you, so many places are connected to you and Jade specifically, and now there’s Felt, your mother’s origins. And she was smart, oh so smart to be the boss of the Felt and to look years into the future, it makes you wonder how could she die so early...”

“What, do you think there’s some kind of conspiracy?” Jake shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense, if anyone knew the truths about the spirits, they would’ve found the vessels and tried to destroy them. Can I see the cogwheel, by the way?”

“Of course.”

They stopped, and Dirk fished the cog out of his inner pocket. Its copper surface shone in the moonlight, making the symbols scratched on it more visible. It looked clean and shiny, like someone’s been polishing it.

Jake frowned at it, running a thumb over the slick surface. Of course Caliborn would take exceptional care of the thing he valued, but...

Dirk hummed. “Maybe they didn’t know their true value? For example, your mother didn’t necessarily figure out that it was a vessel for the spirit of Time, but she must’ve understood its connection to spirits in general-”

“So that’s what it does,” a voice from behind said, and they turned around, so quickly they could get a whiplash, to see Caliborn smirking so widely his face looked split. Handmaid was standing behind him, looking down, like an obedient shadow.

Jake glanced at Dirk in distress; it was scary how neither of them noticed them following.

“I knew you didn’t want it so hard simply because it’s an antique,” Caliborn continued. “So how about you tell me all the details?”

“Not going to happen,” Dirk said firmly.

“We are done with you, leave us alone!” Jake yelled.

“Oh well. I guess I’ll have to find out what this cog does on my own.”

Jake wrapped his hand around the cogwheel safely. “Good luck with that!”

Caliborn laughed in a way Jake has always imagined villains to laugh.

“You didn’t _really_ think I’d give up one of my treasures so easily? To a couple of total strangers? Even if one of them is quite exceptional, and won my game?”

Jake’s hands rolled into fists involuntary, and he thought if he hits hard enough, the cog will split Caliborn’s face open.

“You gave us a fake,” Dirk hissed.

“Obviously. How is that for a shitty twist?” He smirked. “Not an idiot after all. Ain’t I, Dirk? You must be regretting turning me down now.”

Jake felt a rush of blind rage and threw himself at Caliborn, brandishing the fake cogwheel like a knuckle-duster; but then he saw a glint of metal as a barrel of a gun pointed at him, and Dirk caught his wrist in mid-punch.

“Jake, careful!” He put another hand on his chest to hold him in place.

“Take another step and I will shoot you,” Caliborn said, aiming at Jake’s head. Dirk’s grip tightened, he was probably getting ready to tackle him.

Caliborn looked at Dirk without lowering the gun. “I give you the last chance. You can join me and keep your mission going. With my funding. Which is also exceptional. With the real cogwheel, vessel, whatever.”

Jake thought for a second about reaching for the pistol and fighting Caliborn while Dirk goes to retrieve the real vessel, but then he saw the doors of the dirigible swing open, and Jade ran towards them with a furious face, Bec hot on her heels.

“The answer is no,” she yelled. “We are never going to work for scum like you, let’s go, guys.”

Caliborn rolled his eyes, and Handmaid finally looked up, granting Jade her whole attention.

“Who cares about what you think-“ Caliborn began, and Jake said at the same time, “He still has the real cogwheel!”

Jade stared at Jake with no sign of hesitation and grabbed his elbow. “Fuck the cog, I don’t care. Jake. Let’s go.”

Jake wanted to protest, but her grip was firm, and it was _Jade_ , a person whom he trusted without a hint of a doubt, so he nodded slowly.

He glanced at Dirk, trying to convey his trust, the way he knew she would never offer something that would hinder their cause.

Dirk shook his head and tried to argue, but combined efforts of Jake and Jade were stronger than his desire to stay, so they practically dragged him towards the dirigible.

“Are you nuts?!” Caliborn shouted at them. “I offered you glory! I have a gun! I outsmarted all of you! And you are just going to give up like fucking cowards?”

“Don’t,” Jade muttered when Dirk wanted to snap back at him, and shoved him inside.

“What’s your plan?” Dirk asked as soon as the door closed, but Jade didn’t answer and turned the engines on immediately, lifting the dirigible up.

“Jade!” He pressed, placing a hand on her fist when she squeezed the wheel to turn the dirigible away from Linteum. “We can’t leave him with the real cog!”

“Oh, right,” a grin spread on her face slowly. “Do you mean this?”

She pulled a cogwheel out of her pocket like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat; Jake stared at it in disbelief and began laughing.

“Jade, you are-“

“-absolutely amazing!” Dirk finished, smiling. “How did you manage that?”

Jade threw the cog at Jake, and he compared the two: Jade’s had the same scratched marks, but looked older.

“Well,” she began, settling in the pilot's seat comfortably, satisfied with her words’ effect, “at first I thought about teaching him a lesson and breaking into his office to write something on the wall, like _So much for all the restrictions, hahahaha_. But then when Bec and I sneaked in – and it was tough, I must say, there was security everywhere, and at some point I was afraid that creepy woman saw us – anyway, we saw a bunch of fake cogs, most of them unfinished, and we were like – what the hell? I figured he’ll try to scam you, so Bec helped me find the real vessel and voila! The tables have turned.”

She reclined in the seat and increased the altitude, her expression smug.

“Anyways, I left a note saying _Guess who did it,_ so I consider it a success. I wonder if he’ll even notice the real cog’s disappearance…”

“Jade Harley,” Dirk proclaimed solemnly. “From now on, you are officially my favourite person.”

She laughed. “It was all Bec really, I wouldn’t have found anything without him.”

“Fine,” he shrugged and spoke in the same voice. “Becquerel, from now on, you are officially my favourite dog-person.”

Bec wagged his tail, as the dirigible rose higher in the air.

Jade left the control panel to crack the door open and yell at the ground, “Hey, asshole! Guess what, I outsmarted you in the end, you fucking piece of shit!”

She flipped him off and slammed the door shut instantly after something banged outside.

“Holy crap, he tried to shoot me!”

She increased the speed, turning the engines at their full capacity, and they shot upwards – the dirigible started working a lot faster and smoother after Dirk and Equius tinkered with it.

Jake threw the fake cogwheel on the table carelessly and loosened his tie.

“So what kind of creepy things did he want from you in exchange?” Jade asked, spinning in the pilot’s seat.

Dirk took his shades off and put them next to the cog, saying, “He wanted me to play pool with him.”

After a few moments of waiting for him to elaborate, Jade frowned in confusion. “And… That’s it?”

“You weren’t there,” Jake said in disgust, “it was horrible!”

“Okay, I believe you,” Jade rose one eyebrow. “It truly is a hellish game. And what did he want from you, Jake?”

Jake cringed and rubbed his forehead. The mansion's smell seemed to be stuck in his brain and was giving him a migraine. The sharp edge of Anna Harley's photo digging into his ribs didn't help.

“He tried to humbug me into some cockamamie bullshit about how he wanted to duel me. Just to insult me, I reckon. He didn’t even want to talk to me at first, I guess he talks to hot guys only-“

He snapped his mouth shut, frozen in terror of what he just said, and turned even more petrified when he saw Dirk’s lips tugging into a lopsided smirk.

“I always knew you couldn’t resist being head over heels for me, Jake,” his voice was devoid of any kind of humour. “I do remember you saying something of similar manner at the wedding...”

The mere mention of the wedding was enough for Jake to turn crimson red.

“My apologies, I was speaking strictly from an objective point of view both of those times,” he spluttered and stared at Jade, silently pleading her to help.

She laughed and showed an a-ok sign. “Yes, Dirk, I absolutely agree, you look positively gorgeous, and you know you can’t find a more uninterested person than me. You’re like a fine chilli sauce, sizzling its way into our hearts!”

Jake forced himself to take a deep breath and exhaled with relief. He wanted to drop on his knees and lift his hands to the skies, crying and thanking heavens for Jade existing and knowing just the right words to say to make everything seem rational. It was just a normal conversation and a normal friendly slip of a tongue.

“Please don’t compare me to anything edible ever again,” Dirk said, playing with the Void ring; his smirk seemed strange and unnatural.

Jake figured it was time to grab the wheel of this conversation and stir it away from falling down a cliff of admitting any more of Dirk’s virtues out loud.

“Putting all the food references aside, Jade,” Jake said quickly, “Something else happened.”

Jade’s smile dissolved into an expression of shock as she listened to the story about their mother and looked at the picture Jake took from the mansion.

“But… I thought she was just a tailor before joining SkaiaNet,” Jade said, disappointment lacing her voice. She stroked the lines of the faded photograph, deep in thought. “I don’t think she knew about magic though, she wasn’t the kind of person to believe in something that couldn’t be proved. He thinks too much.”

She pointed a finger at Dirk, who apparently decided the matters of their discussion were too private and was hanging out with Bec in the cockpit.

“I know,” Jake sighed in relief. He was so glad Jade was always there to support him and share his ideas. This proved that his justification wasn’t wishful thinking or something he conjured up in his mind to the sake of making up an excuse, but a legitimate thought.

However, the moment Jade turned away, Dirk approached him anyway.

“Your mother is her own human being,” he said. “There isn’t a person without a secret in the world.”

Jake sighed, opening the box of nails he wanted to use to hang the photo on the wall, next to the ones that were already there. Dirk still maintained his point of view, figures.

“I’m merely trying to make you see another possibility, not just the perfect story you believe in. Maybe it was a secret she’s never told anybody. Even the most open people have one. There’s probably a ton of stuff you didn’t tell me.”

Jake envisioned a detailed list of all the things he’s never confessed to Dirk that would take up their entire library.

“Well, yes... Some things...”

“It’s fine. There’s a lot you don’t know about me either, but it doesn’t mean I defy you as a friend. Some things are just meant to stay hidden,” his smile was sad. “Unless you spill your guts to a stranger to get them off your chest. This is the one most illogical rule of life that always works.”

“Jade said we should be happy to learn more about her life, real her. No matter what we learn, good or bad things, it’s still better than a ghost summoned by my imagination. And to get a new photograph is nice too.”

“Always the optimist,” Dirk sighed. “In any case, I’m glad this evening is behind us. Who knew resisting punching a person with every word they say can be so tough?”

Jake smiled. He was glad Dirk expressed clear resentment towards Caliborn, but still, he couldn’t help but feel melancholic.

Obviously, a part of his own resentment was due to Caliborn expressing interest in Dirk – a rational part of his brain prompted that such a remarkable man was bound to attract attention, and if Jake didn’t make a move soon, he would blow his chances, and one day an equally remarkable person could appear out of nowhere, take Dirk's arm, and waltz with him into the sunset. But this part was so weak he was able to shut it down promptly.

An even tinier part that asked him to notice the similarities in the type of people who took interest in Dirk and asked him to join them, namely Vriska and Caliborn, was even easier to muffle.

“You’ve done a swell job playing pool though, really impressive for a first try,” Jake said instead, tugging the end of his tie. They still didn’t have time to change, but if Jake was honest with himself, he enjoyed a chance to dress up. And see Dirk dressed up.

“I told you, it was only the matter of knowing physics, density and friction of certain materials, all that stuff. And besides, I’d never win if it wasn’t for your interference. Asking about his sister was a perfect move. It was very smart of you.”

“Oh,” was the only thing Jake could say. To be called smart was such a rare occasion for him. In a family where brains were valued more than anything else he was always sort of rara avis, even though they’ve never stated so out loud. “Thank you.”

“By the way, we should return to the city some time, I have to return this suit. Didn’t know we’ll be leaving in a hurry.”

“What? You mean you didn’t buy it?”

“Of course not, I wasn’t about to spend _your_ money, I rented it.”

“Dirk, don’t worry about us, money is not the issue.”

“Yes, I get it, you are filthy rich,” Dirk rolled his eyes. “Still, I can’t accept random expensive gifts.”

“Don’t be a dunderwhelp, you should keep it. It suits you, really.”

To say the least. Once again, Jake admired the strict lines making his shoulders seem broader and waist slimmer, and the contrast of black material with pale skin that made his eyes more brilliant orange.

Apparently, the way his insides seemed to curl up into pleasant knots was a good cure for melancholy, and he dropped his gaze quickly, wishing the stupid smile he knew was tugging his lips away.

“Consider it, um, a belated present for your birthday that I didn’t give you due to the fact that we weren’t acquainted yet,” Jake added.

“Well then, I ought to get something for you as well,” Dirk said. “What do you want?”

 _I want you to tell me about friction of certain materials when we are alone,_ Jake’s mind prompted immediately, and he gave himself a mental roundhouse kick.

“A really cool technical gizmo?” Jake smoothed his hair, smiling nervously, hoping the gesture to cover his red cheeks looked natural. “Like a harpoon gun that shoots tiny harpoons instead of bullets.”

“Alright,” Dirk sounded amused. “Out of curiosity, what things do you usually get for your birthdays?”

Jake recollected his memories. “Usually travelling gear, books, doohickeys to assist on our adventures. For my last birthday I got a telescope.”

Dirk’s face lit up instantly. “So what’s the moon like up close?”

“Contrary to popular belief, it’s not made of cheese,” Jake laughed. “If I had to compare it to something, it would be a grey omelette.”

“That’s not very poetic of you to say.”

Jake smiled. “I think the mere fact of looking at something a million kilometres away, that no man has ever set a foot on, something full of undiscovered mysteries – it’s poetic enough on its own.”

“Now that’s the Jake I know,” Dirk smirked, but then his smile dissolved, as though he remembered something sad.

“Yes, Jade’s presents are the best,” Jake said with slight worry that he did something wrong.

“Did someone say my name without proper reverence and awe?” Jade asked suddenly, and they turned to see her in a long blue dress decorated with sparkling sequins and beads.

“What do you think?” She twirled. “It’s unfair that only you guys get to hang out in fancy clothes, so I decided to take out my own dress! Well, technically it’s not mine, it was Grandma’s. As you can see, we don’t own any fancy stuff of our own,” she pulled at the neckline that was sitting too low to be comfortable.

“You’ve never gone to a meeting or a ball?” Dirk asked. “I thought that’s what you rich people do in their spare time.”

“Hey, that’s very offensive stereotyping!” Jade shook a finger at him. “No, we’ve never been to one.”

“Hasn’t SkaiaNet ever hosted a party for its employees?”

“Well, no,” Jade said, and Jake suddenly thought that it was indeed kind of weird. SkaiaNet was a big company, and both Grandma and Grandpa have always said they cared about their employees; why didn’t they ever have a single event, like celebrating its birthday?

Maybe engineering was all about concentration and just didn’t dispose to having fun.

Jake sighed again, a miserable thought appearing: how far away he was from any of his family’s legacies.

***

The next day they’ve set metaphorical sails to Nocteville – it was about time they went home. One could only hope nothing would stand in their way this time.

Jake, being the _one_ in question, was so keen on getting home he even thought about sabotage and hiding Rose’s future messages about new discoveries.

Of course, he would never really do it, it was just a desperate idea caused by extreme homesickness.

In any case, Rose didn’t send them any new messages, and when Dirk tried to reach her, there was no answer – she must still be in Sandford with Roxy.

So Jake decided to be their “Rose substitute” (but mostly Grandma’s true descendant) and try to translate the symbols on the cogwheel on his own.

When he finished his first translation and read the spell out loud, Jade overheard it, screamed, and tackled him, thrusting a hand on his mouth and calling him all the synonyms for “idiot” she knew for almost letting the spirit out – but despite Jake finishing saying the entire spell, nothing happened. It could be because he got the translation wrong, or maybe there was a ritual he didn’t performed.

Either way, he took extra care to do the translations only on paper, and Dirk put oven mitts on and locked the cog into a chest, prohibiting everyone to touch it with bare skin.

***

So many events were concentrated in the last month, in seemed to Jake like he hasn’t been home for years.

They’ve arrived in Nocteville at dusk, and all Jake could think about was getting into his warm comfy bed and getting more sleep, then taking an hour-long bath and having a huge breakfast made of fresh food, and do every routine thing in a proper way a human being who owns a house should.

He looked at their house, the place that was an embodiment of their family’s roots, and was happy to see even the Midnight Crew; so much that he wanted to hug them – the only thing that stopped him was being sure he would be greeted with a knife pressed to his throat in response.

They’ve landed the dirigible quite carelessly, thinking about nothing else but getting home, dismissed Mr. Slick and his gang after quickly ensuring nothing went wrong in their absence, and everything seemed perfect and peaceful – that’s why Jake audibly groaned when Bec came to a halt on the threshold and growled.

“What’s wrong, Bec?” Jade asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, he’s just tired,” Jake inserted quickly, and earned a glare of disdain from Bec.

He just wanted to have one simple calm day, was it too much to ask for?

An idea of fighting someone, especially using their home as the battlefield, made him want to hide underground and never to come out again.

“Maybe we can pretend nothing has happened and go rest,” Jake said helplessly, dropping the bags he was carrying on the ground, expect for the chest with the vessels, and loaded his pistols with new bullets, just as Jade cocked her rifle, and Dirk bared his blade.

Bec growled again and took a stance, pointing his snout at the corner of the house.

“Alright, alright,” Aradia said, coming out of hiding with her hands raised. “No need to get aggressive, I just want to talk.”

Blazing rage overtook Jake again – he’s never felt so many negative emotions in such a short period of time.

“How long have you been here?” Jade asked without lowering the rifle.

“Ever since you had the imprudence to talk about how real magic and spirits are in front of a certain woman serving certain organization you decided to oppose,” Aradia lowered her hands on the shoulder level, her palms hang limp and relaxed, but Jake didn’t trust her one bit – he’s already learned a lesson. “Your words scared the woman so much she even decided to warn her daughter, whom she hasn’t gotten in touch for years, ever since choosing said organization over her, because of how much she was _devoted_ to her bosses… That daughter would be me, obviously. Unfortunately, she told me about it too late, and I missed you in Linteum, that’s why me and my teammates spread out across the land to cover all the possible places you could appear. Here it is, the whole truth. Can I put my hands down now?”

Jade glanced at Jake and Dirk, unsure, and Jake snapped, “No way!”

“What did you want to talk about?” He asked. He wasn’t about to trust her or forgive her, but the least he could do was listen to what she had to say.

“What are your plans for the spirits? Why are you searching for them?”

They exchanged glances again, before Jade answered. “We plan to destroy them so that no one else will be hurt.”

“And… that’s it?”Aradia’s eyebrows shot up. “You are not even slightly interested in magic, not even after you’ve tasted a sample of what it’s like? You want to close it off forever so that nobody else will ever be able to experience the power of creation, the possibility to revolutionize the world it brings, to awake the sleeping parts of their souls? You want to make a decision for all the people in the Empire?”

“At the price of keeping everyone safe, yes,” Jake said.

“Harleys saving the world, how obscure,” Aradia mused and after a long pause noticed their questioning looks. “Oh, that’s all I wanted to know, thanks. Also… Syke!”

Her hand flew to the whip like lightning, and its end wrapped around Dirk’s sword, ripping it out of his hands.

The next hit of the whip aimed towards the chest with the vessels, but Jake expected something like this and wrapped his arms around it securely, while Jade and Bec grappled her on the ground. But Aradia managed to jerk the whip towards her, the chest's lid flew open, and the vessels scattered around on the ground.

“Get it… Off me...” She wheezed, crashed under Bec’s enormous weight.

“That’s four against one, you should’ve expected this outcome,” Dirk said, having retrieved his sword, and put its tip on the ground next to her throat.

Jade motioned Bec to loosen the pressure on her throat, but as soon as she did it, Aradia twisted her hand, and something like a small phial with perfume flew out of her sleeve and smashed.

Aradia pulled a scarf over her nose and mouth instantly, and a greenish cloud of vapour spread from the phial; Jake gasped as his skin burned where the vapour touched it, and everyone fled away from her, coughing and scratching their skin. Jake could barely see what’s going on through his watering eyes, but he knew Aradia would go for the vessels.

He tackled her once more, and they rolled on the ground; she pulled out another small bottle and sprayed at his face. Jake’s eyes burned again, so he blindly grabbed her hand and pushed it to the ground with all the strength he could master.

And suddenly, she screamed, and when Jake cracked one eye open, he saw with blood-freezing horror that he overdid his attempts at fighting her, and accidentally impaled her hand on the cogwheel, still lying on the ground.

“I’m sorry!” He shouted and climbed off her, blinking rapidly and rubbing the tears off.

She nursed the injured hand, eyes watery because of both gas and pain; Dirk and Jade knelt next to her as well.

It was sick to watch Aradia try to pull the cog that stuck right between the bones of the hand; Jake could see the tip ripping through the skin on the other side. It shook and bled profusely, and he thought that’s what Dirk must’ve felt like when he cut Vriska’s hand off.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, really meaning it, and tried to help her, but the cog didn’t budge, and she yelped the moment he touched it.

“You bastards,” she groaned and ripped the hand away from him.

“I’m so-” Jake began again, but Dirk interrupted him sharply.

“Don’t apologize, Jake. It was her who spied, tricked, and attacked us.”

“Yet it’s _you_ who keep ruining our lives,” Aradia stared him down from under the black curls fallen on her eyes, but cried in pain the next moment, pressing the hand to her chest.

“Get back!” Jade screamed, and dragged both Dirk and Jake away from Aradia, who was shaking violently, red streams of blood running up her arm. “What if she’s going to turn into the _thing_!”

 _Congratulations_ , Jake thought mirthlessly, _your translation was correct_.

He watched as the red streams wrapped around Aradia’s body like a tight cocoon, and within a second a new creature, tall and thin, with skin like crannied grey crust, with blood like boiling lava visible through the cracks, stood in front of them.

It opened shining yellow eyes and looked at its hands, assessing its new body, and finally looked at them.

There was something they’ve never felt before – like a wall pressed them down under its gaze, as if it physically filled them with nervousness. Even Bec let out a growl that sounded more like a whimper, and hid behind Jade, who gulped and squeezed the rifle tighter.

The spirit – even in his mind Jake felt an unexplainable urge to call it just Time, with an obligatory capital letter – looked them over carefully, and in the end settled on Jake.

“You,” it pointed a finger at him. “Are irrelevant.”

It flicked its hand, Dirk yelled, “Duck!!” and grabbed Jake from behind, pushing him on the ground, but the invisible wall hit them anyway – and it was the last thing Jake remembered before falling into what felt like a black hole where nothing existed.

***

***

Sollux watched Eridan throw the locket in the air and catch it again, for what felt like a millionth time. He was bored, they both were, sitting in their hiding place near the closed shop in the town named Canteth for the second day. It was pretty obvious no one was around, and no one will be, but they still had to stake out this place, just like the rest of their teammates.

“It’s so boring,” Eridan stated the obvious aloud. “When do we finally get to leave?”

“When anyone else sends the news, or in four days,” Sollux answered.

Eridan glared at him. “It was a rhetorical question, Sol, I know the orders, I _gave_ them.”

Sollux snorted and rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever you say, ED.”

The more he hung out with Eridan and Aradia, the less hierarchical their relationship became, especially after he learned that Eridan was merely the second in command (although even the Empress would envy the way he was presenting himself).

He could certainly say the life he was currently leading was a lot more exciting; and even if it was dangerous, he’s already passed the point of no return long time ago.

And at times like this he felt included, sometimes even needed.

Surely, he didn’t know valuable information about the people they we fighting and the goals they wanted to achieve, unlike Aradia (whose mother’s ex-boss was their opponents’ mother), or Eridan, or especially Feferi, but he knew first-hand facts about creatures they wanted to be cahoots with.

There seemed to be an exceeding amount of mothers indirectly involved in the situation, even though most of them were dead; and at first Sollux thought that Eridan’s mother must play a part somehow too. However, he rarely talked about his parents, and the only thing Sollux knew about them was that they brought both him and Feferi up.

“There’s only one thing I don’t understand though,” Sollux said, watching the locket fly in the air again, sapphires sparkling. “Why don’t we do something with it.”

Eridan caught the locket and raised his eyebrows. “What, are you planning on joining Vris in her _let’s take over the world with the spirit power_ shtick? Maybe try to set Rage free like she tried multiple times?”

He uttered Vriska’s name like it was poisonous; ever since she and her team found them and proposed an alliance, there was a lot of tension and disdain going on between the two, they both wanted to be seen as the one and only second in command, which was tough, seeing how their goals were sometimes different. Sollux, from his cosy place in the lower level in hierarchy, sharing it with Aradia and two new members, Gamzee and Tavros, found it very funny to watch two giant egos clash, and every time it happened, he simply relaxed and enjoyed the show.

“As if you don’t want to take over the world,” Sollux said.

“Uh, excuse me, were you even listening to Fef? It is not our primary goal,” Eridan raised a finger, like a professor ready to embark on a two-hour-long lecture. Oh wait, he really was a professor. It was easy to forget, because Sollux couldn’t believe a guy with such a personality was allowed near students. “Unlike our new and pointlessly recruited teammates, I didn’t make it the meaning of life. Revenge first, and taking over the world second. That’s why we are better than them, because the big boss doesn’t want to subjugate the world, she simply wants to fill it with magic again, fulfilling her mother’s wish and allowing everyone to become a magician like her ancestors… Even though, personally, I think she would be a great ruler,” he finished with a slightly irritating awestruck expression.

It was funny how Eridan called Feferi “big boss”, because this title didn’t suit her appearance of a tiny young woman with huge brown eyes. However, everyone close to her knew that this appearance hid a fiery personality, and even though Sollux met her only a handful of times after being questioned about what happened in Crystal Falls, he might have developed a low-key crush on her (he would never admit this to anyone of course; he had a hard time admitting it even to himself). He was certain both Eridan and Aradia felt the same, making the love geometry in their strange team even more complicated.

The situation he was in would be utterly hilarious, if its moral greyness didn’t bother him so much.

“Do you not regret this at all?” Sollux probed carefully. “Even after you lost your job?”

“We still have savings, and once we run out we’ll just find a new sponsor,” Eridan replied with nonchalance of a person who has never had to worry about money in his life. “Besides, once the magic will reign over the Earth, no one will need trivial things like jobs and our current shitty government, everyone’s gonna use magic to get what they want. That’s when the true peace and harmony will appear, Sol.”

Eridan folded his hands in another professory gesture, and Sollux squinted at the rising sun in lieu of answering. He couldn’t deny that the prospect of magic intrigued him, but also, if he was completely honest with himself, scared him.

Neither Eridan, nor Aradia and Feferi knew what it was like to be possessed.

It made him a valuable asset for the team, but also (he hoped) a someone whose opinion on the matter would be regarded as the most realistic.

***

When Vriska was saying her catchphrase about being the luckiest person in the Empire, she wasn’t joking or exaggerating. Her life has always been a set of lucky coincidences, which, obviously, spoke of her deep connection to the spirit of Light – the all-knowledgeable being whose foreseeing powers were so vast they allowed it to never make a mistake.

Even at times when Vriska’s life seemed to go down, she has always found a way to climb up on top again. For example, how lucky she was when in the first month of her becoming a pirate she stumbled across such a massive quest that promised loads of money and dominance not only over the entire Empire, but the whole world?

So when she was fooled by a group of kids again, lost her arm, eye, and a litre of blood, when Tavros and Gamzee have proven their incompetence yet again, and when summoning Rage resulted only in it saying Light's orders were of highest priority, she thought it was just a minor setback. After all, her arm was now replaced with a metal prosthetic, made by a man from an obscure workshop (who even names their shop _Centaur_ nowadays?), her eye was covered with an intimidating _real_ black patch, and she found a team of people whom she could use as much better henchmen to assist her in finding the remaining vessels and have revenge on Dirk Strider and his idiot teammates.

However, right now was the first time Vriska was doubting her luck.

Seemingly mild, kind-hearted Feferi Peixes possessed an Empress-like ability to trample people down, establishing herself as one and only true leader in a way that left no doubt: her vengeance was the one everyone should follow. This was Vriska’s first miscalculation; in order to figure out Feferi’s real motivations, she let her dominate their first meeting, thinking she would have no problem getting the leadership back where it belongs. Boy, was she mistaken.

And now the same bundle of kids managed to leave them without funding with a couple of letters tampering with Ampora’s and Megido’s reputations and some friends in the government they managed to get, simply because Lalonde decided to marry a tax inspector.

Yes, nothing seemed promising at the moment, but Vriska wasn’t the one to give up.

She would just have to wait for an opportune moment to strike.

She knew that, eventually, it would come.

It _had_ to – Vriska wouldn't take it any other way.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Optimism goals: Vriska Serket  
> Honestly, I love every single character I write about, even the local asshole Caliborn.  
> However, I had to cut his subplot out almost completely (as well as Aradia's), for the same reason I stated before - I wouldn't have finished this fic if I wrote about every single thing I want to write about. *excuses mode on*
> 
> I apologize if this chapter seemed half-assed - to be honest, I didn't have time to make final edits because I will be leaving the country to go on vacation in mere days, and I'm up to my neck in preparations... I'm sure I'll have stable internet connection at the place I'll be staying in, but just in case: if you don't hear from me the next Friday, it doesn't mean I abandoned this story. I'm just staying far, far away from home.  
> And while you wait, you can check [waoheas tag](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/tagged/waoheas) on my tumblr - maybe you'll find some interesting stuff there.
> 
> edit: if something happens, [my best friend](http://guramitami.tumblr.com/) will post an update on my situation


	10. Ghost Apocalyptic Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jake stops operating by the book logic.
> 
> This is it, guys, the chapter everything (almost everything) was building up to.  
> The arc that references all previous chapters.  
> Enjoy.

The feeling of falling through nothingness was fleeting, and within a second he was standing on the ground again, with Dirk holding him tight from behind.

The spot where the spirit's invisible power hit him stung like it was jabbed with electricity.

Dirk muttered, “What the hell,” released him, and Jake finally opened his eyes.

The spirit has thrown them into an unfamiliar place, and at looked like embodiment of despair. Light grey sky and hazy air around them gave Jake a strange feeling in his guts, the origins of which he couldn't pinpoint. It was as if deeply rooted subconscious terror has awoken after thousands of years, and his self-preservation instincts screamed at him to run and hide, to save his life from something frightening.

But there was nothing around them, just ground, dust, and shrivelled trees with brown leaves that were growing in a wide hollow; it seemed as if no human has ever been here – and there was no Jade or Bec.

They were left one-on-one with the spirit.

“Jade!” He screamed, chilling fear lashing onto him, and spun around in search for any signs of them or the spirit. “Bec!”

He looked for anything, a door maybe, or a hole where he could fall right back into and return to Jade.

He couldn't stop horrible images flooding his head, of all kinds of tortures Time could put Jade and Bec through, there was no way they would be able to fight the spirit by themselves, there was nobody to help them, _he_ wasn't there to help them –

“Stop panicking,” Dirk seized his shoulders firmly and looked him in the eyes.

“I'm n-not panicking,” Jake's shaky voice betrayed them.

He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head –

– but Jade and Bec were left all alone, with no one to help them –

“What if Time kills them,” he whispered. “God dammit, I don't even know where we are, how the heck do we get back! Dirk, we need to help them, holy hell, do something!”

Jake shook him, but was met with an impassive expression.

“Jade is smart and strong, and she can take care of herself. We can't help her right now, we need to focus on this place,” Dirk said, voice perfectly composed.

But right now Jake positively hated his ability to stay poised. It would be so much better if he, just once, succumbed to hysteria like a normal person.

“How can you stay so indifferent, she is my sister!” Jake yelled. “And she is your friend too, do you not care about her just a little bit?!”

Dirk glared at him. “Of course I care. But right now we have to be calm to assess the surroundings.”

Jake took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. He was far from calm, but arguing wouldn't do them any good.

“Alright,” Dirk said, looking around. “Theory number one, it's an illusion.”

Jake knew it was wrong, he remembered the way Life and Void created an illusion, and how it felt completely different – this world and the subtle terror it aroused were definitely real.

“Theory number two: we've been transported to another region. Likeness is unknown, since we don't know if it's within the spirit's powers. Theory number three, the most likely one: since it's the spirit of Time we've been moved in time. It could be the past or the future of Nocteville.”

“It can't be Nocteville,” Jake said at once. “Our house isn't here, and there's no lake-”

The words froze in his throat, because his gaze fell on the hollow again, and Jake realized that it wasn't just situated at the same place the lake was; it _used to be_ the lake.

And the moment this thought appeared he recognized the Plum Woods forest as well, and saw that one spot covered with thick grass looked a bit different from the rest – the spot where their house should have been.

“Maybe… we are in the past? My family hasn't built the house yet,” Jake suggested, even though in his heart he knew the answer.

“Easy to check. Do you have a landmark that was put up while you and Jade lived here?”

“We… we've carved our initials in a tree,” Jake went towards the forest and felt the bark of the trees, finally spotting the correct one.

And there it was: a clumsy carving, _J & J_. Jake ran his finger over the damaged bark; it looked extremely old.

He gulped, and then something like a distant thunder rumbled, and the ground shook slightly, but it stopped before he could make out its source.

“Jake, come here,” Dirk called; even though he was far away, his voice was clear, and Jake realized another oddity: there were no natural noises like crickets or birds, no wind to create white noise of the background.

He saw that Dirk has dug the spot at a place where the Harleys' house once stood, removing layers or grass and soil that revealed a mix of debris that looked like someone has put it in a meat-grinder.

“A front page of a newspaper,” Dirk said, showing a dirty piece of paper ripped in half. “Date is a year from now, or should I say from the time we came from, but apparently it's been in here for decades. If only I could make it clean enough to read it...”

He started rubbing the dirt off, but Jake wasn't listening – with another sting of fear and pain he recognized another piece of canvas stuck in the ground.

It was difficult to pull out, but after a while Jake was finally staring at Grandma's face, exactly like he remembered her to be on the biggest portrait in their living room.

A year from now their house would be destroyed, leaving no whole thing.

And right at this moment – or countless years ago – Jade and Bec were fighting Time on their own.

Could it be the result of that battle? Did Jade… die?

Jake stood up abruptly. “We need to find someone and ask them about everything.”

Dirk nodded, still busy with the paper. Suddenly a thunder rolled again, ear-shatteringly loud this time, and the ground shook so violently they had to grab onto each other in order not to fall.

Dirk watched the cloud of smoke rising up the sky and pointed towards it. “We should go there. Explosions mean people.”

Jake put the piece of the painting in his pocket; it was still filled with trash he planned on cleaning out one day – but now the things he deemed useless became the only connection he had to his time.

“It's not a newspaper, it's like a leaflet with obituaries,” Dirk frowned, turning the paper around back and forth. “Looks like there was an outbreak of something here, like an epidemic, or a war. It’s just about Nocteville though, so there’s no one I know. Here, see if you can find any familiar names.”

"Maybe later," Jake mumbled, shoving the paper in the pocket without looking at it.

_War_ was a horrible word, and Jake swallowed thickly. He's already noticed that he couldn't see outlines of Nocteville in the distance; all the buildings must've been levelled with the ground just like their house...

Jade.

It's been twenty minutes, was she winning? Did she do the right thing and hid with Bec in the dirigible, sent Rose a message, and now was waiting till the help comes, not exposing herself to any danger?

But it was a pointless question for anyone who knew Jade Harley, and no one knew her better than Jake.

Of course she would rush into the middle of a fight; but what if she got herself killed, and he wouldn't be there to help her…

He pursed his lips to stop them from trembling, and squeezed his eyes shut.

“We will get out of this, I promise,” Dirk said, squeezing his wrist. “It’s the future, their markets must be overflowing with time machines sold for a penny. We'll be stuffed with so much time travelling gadgetry we'll have to duel those salesmen in order to get out.”

Those were merely comfort words, Jake knew this. They were walking through the abandoned remains of what used to be a town, and if any of the people here knew about time travelling, they would've prevented this wreckage of rusty metal beams, brick powder, and something white that crunched under their feet that looked suspiciously like crashed bones. The colourless paint was peeling off the surviving walls, adding to the whole miserable picture.

There was no sight of a living thing – but Jake spotted black dots soaring up in the sky that might be birds.

At some point he could’ve sworn the mist around them thickened and a deformed face looked at him from within; but it was gone before he could comprehend whether or not it was a trick of light.

And then there was a flare of red light right ahead.

“Dirk, have you-“

“Yes,” he said, and in silent agreement they both ran towards it, leaping over the remains of the houses.

However, as soon as they got close enough to the source of light to see that it was a small pulsing sphere, someone grabbed them from behind and dragged them into the ruins.

Strong hands turned them around, and they saw two people with faces covered with thin fabric and eyes hidden behind the goggles.

“Are you crazy?” The woman yelled. “Haven't you heard the bombs, everything's going to blow up in a second!”

They dashed away from the sphere, leading them through a maze of the buildings' carcasses, until the man shouted “Down!!” and they fell onto the floor, hiding in an aperture to cover from falling debris after the bomb exploded with such force Jake thought he's gone deaf.

Disoriented, Jake and Dirk rose to their feet, while their saviours have already stood up and were looking at the sky. The woman was strapping something that looked like thick gloves on both of her hands, and the man was brandishing a bow with arrows.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jake noticed there was no mist around them anymore.

“What weapons have you got?” The man asked, and scowled when they showed him the pistols and the sword.

“That's no good, how are you even surviving… Okay, just stand back,” he said, taking an arrow that lit up with a blue flame as soon as he touched it.

The black dots that Jake thought were birds were growing in size rapidly, attracted by the explosion, and soon they turned into giant ugly creatures with flat heads and grey leathern wings.

The creatures bared their teeth that were popping up in the most unexpected places, like stomachs and tails, throwing the thin slimy tongues out. But they didn't get a chance to get close, because the arrows hit them between the eyes, and they fell, paralysed by the blue fire that enveloped their entire bodies.

The woman jumped on them, avoiding the flame with ease; her glove let out long metal claws, and she sliced the creatures in a few quick motions, jumping down when the bodies crashed down in puddles of yellowish liquid oozing out of their wounds.

There was only one word to describe what they just saw: flawless.

“Now they have teeth of their wings too, great,” the man muttered. “Life's creativity has no bounds.”

Neither Jake nor Dirk had time to say anything, because the woman hurried them.

“Come on, if we hit one underling it means soon the entire flock’s gonna be here.”

She whispered something to her glove, and it shot a ray of light that drew a circle in the air. It turned pitch black, like a hole in reality itself.

The man jumped in first, disappearing completely, and the woman beckoned them.

“What's this?” Dirk asked with suspicion.

“Are you an idiot? It's a portal, duh.”

And without further ado she pushed them into the hole – and they stumbled onto the ground of a completely new place. It was like passing through a list of invisible paper, there was no sense of distance, yet Jake recognized the place to be a village several kilometres away from Nocteville. Even though it looked less ruined, there was still no sign of anyone being alive.

The woman passed through the portal as well, and it was gone the next moment, and Jake could finally take a good look at their saviours, who have shed the protective gear and lifted their goggles. The woman was short and bulky, half of her head was burned and the remains of her hair were dyed green. The man was taller, his long black hair was tied into a messy ponytail, and his skin was covered in scars. Their facial features were so similar that there was no doubt – they were siblings. The clothes they wore were made from tarpaulin-like material and were shabby, but surprisingly whole.

“Who are you?” Jake asked.

“That's what we should ask _you_. Where did you come from, and why do you look so… fresh?” The man asked with a vague wiggle of his hand, inspecting them all over.

“I'm Jake, this is Dirk,” Jake said, glancing at Dirk to make sure it was okay to use their names, but Dirk was too busy devouring the portal glove with his eyes. “Um… Would you believe if we say we come from the past?”

“Well of course, people slip in time back and forth, it is Time's domain, after all," the man sounded relieved to hear a believable explanation. "I am the Darkleer, this is the Disciple, by the way. When are you from?”

“From before this town was ruined,” Dirk said.

The siblings looked at each other with wide eyes and gasped in unison. “It must be like sixty years from now!! Wow! Just... wow, you are the first ones to come from so far.”

“That explains why you look so groomed,” the Darkleer added. “Come on, it’s dangerous to stand outside like this, let's go to our hideout.”

“Wait!” The Disciple stopped him. “What if it's a decoy, we need to check them.”

“Oh, right, sorry!” He rummaged in a small bag strapped to his thigh and handed her a phial, looking suspiciously like the ones Aradia used. The Disciple filled a syringe with transparent liquid and took four needles.

“Um, what are you going to do?” Jake asked, shivering nervously as a droplet rolled off a thin needle.

“If your intentions are pure, you've got nothing to fear,” she said.

“Except for the syringe you're holding,” Dirk said. “We won't be injected with an unknown substance.”

“It’s the truth serum,” the Disciple explained. “Makes you unable to dodge questions, basically destroys the filter between your thoughts and your words. We gotta use it to check if you’re human, spirits are starting to get crafty with their illusions recently. See, we’ll inject ourselves too, so that you are sure we are not lying.”

After inserting the needle in her brother's arm and her own, she pricked Jake's elbow flexion slightly, then did the same with Dirk.

Jake was afraid it would burn him, but he felt absolutely nothing; however, when he glanced at Dirk, he saw him cringing.

“Are you... feeling alright?” Jake asked, worried.

“Being unable to lie is the kind of helplessness I'm afraid of the most,” Dirk said and frowned, proving that he didn’t intend to say any of that. “How long does the serum last?”

“It's a strong one, so about thirty minutes,” the Darkleer said, setting the clock, and Jake was suddenly worried about his own secrets being in jeopardy. “It’s okay, we won't ask you anything personal.”

The Disciple took a deep breath, and said, weighing every word, “Entities having control of these bodies, I’m addressing you. Are you human?”

Jake’s lips moved on their own accord, he and Dirk said in unison, “Yes.”

“Where and when did you come from and what are your names?”

They said their full names and the date they left Nocteville.

“What are your intentions?”

Jake said, “To get out of here,” and Dirk said, “To figure out what’s going on.”

The siblings nodded in approval, and the Darkleer said, “You pass! I knew you must be human, spirits wouldn't have made a mistake of imitating people of the past. Now you can ask us questions.”

“Have you heard about Jade Harley? What happened to her, is she alive?” Jake blurted out.

The siblings shook their heads, and the Disciple answered sadly, “Sorry, we don’t know who this is.”

Jake’s heart fell. She must’ve noticed the drastic change in his expression, because she asked, voice sympathetic, “Who was she, someone important? Maybe she had an alias? Everyone has one around here. At first it was for safety concerns, but then it became customary for people to change names.”

“She didn’t; she is my twin sister, the most important person in my life, I worry about her so much, even though I know she is stronger than me, I left her in the past, one on one with the spirit of Time, her and our dog, what if I can’t get there in time, I don't know what I'll do, what if she dies, I won’t be able to live in a world where she is dead and I couldn’t save her.”

He didn't realize that words fell from his mouth like hail until they stopped; the siblings’ expressions changed to confusion, and Dirk looked at him weirdly – Jake has already started hating this serum that made his spill all his thoughts.

“What about us?” Dirk asked.

“Your names are unfamiliar.”

“What about Rose Lalonde?" He paused. "Dave and Dane Striders?”

The siblings kept shaking their heads.

“Nothing," the Disciple said. "I'm really, really sorry we don't know anything. The last ones have your last name, are they your family? You must be worried sick. Believe me, with hundreds of times we were separated, left without a hint of information about each other for months, I know how it feels,” she glanced at her brother quickly.

“Yes, I am. I dragged them into this ordeal, and if they are killed because someone like Vriska tries to get to me, their blood will be on my hands," he said through gritted teeth, and glanced at Jake. "You were wrong when you said I don't understand what it's like to be responsible for Jade's life."

"I'm sorry I said it. It's just that you are so reserved towards everything, it's irritating,” Jake didn’t mean to add the last part, but his mind didn't seem to listen to common sense.

Dirk frowned and crossed his arms of his chest. “Stoicism is but an act in most of the things I do, used to cover up undesirable characteristics, like fear of the unknown world that we’ve barely scratch the surface of. There’s always someone needed to be able to stay level-headed in order to find a way out of whatever predicament we face, and that's the role I've chosen to take for your sake.”

Jake stared at him, feeling slightly ashamed, but glad that his thoughts were too disarrayed to form words, otherwise he’d blurt out something undesirable.

At least he got his wish, and Dirk has admitted to feeling fear – although now that he did, Jake didn't know whether he should be happy they were on the same level, or scared of the future twice as hard. If the future was the first thing to make Dirk Strider afraid, then...

"It's okay," the Darkleer smiled, "You have no idea how scared we are of this world despite being born in it. We spend ninety-nine percent of our waking time with terror clenching our guts – and then we go to sleep and it haunts our dreams too, unless you take sleeping pills, of course. You can have some, by the way, we have plenty. We just never show our true feelings because people feel safer if they believe their defenders are fearless. The secret to it is, of course, truly not feeling fear to an extent."

Dirk sighed shortly, looking displeased, and asked, “What about Equius Zahhak and Nepeta Leijon?”

The siblings' mouths fell open, and they shouted, vying with each other, “Oh my god, yes!” and “How did you know them?!”

At least one of them found something good out, Jake thought, as Dirk leaned forward eagerly and said, “I live with them currently and work for Centaur Technologies. How did _you_ know them?”

“They were our grandparents! But wait a sec, if you lived with them sixty years ago, it means-"

"Is he really-"

"He totally is!"

"You’re our uncle!” The Darkleer sounded ecstatic. " _And_ Dace Hagler! Oh my god, this is the best day of my life!"

“I am your what?” Dirk looked at Jake in confusion, as if he could explain the suddenly expanded family tree.

“Well, Gramps and Granny have always said you were like a son to them, so when Felice, our Mom, was born, it made her _kind of_ like your sister, which means you are our uncle. Sorry I called you an idiot earlier, uncle Dirk, please don't ground me,” the Disciple laughed, a happy vivid sound. “Gramps and Granny used to tell tons of stories about you, up until they died, well, they didn't say it was you specifically, they weren't allowed to use your name, they just said that they took care of Dace Hagler himself once," she blurted out.

Dirk just stared at them, as if unable to process her words.

“You're the grandchildren of Equius and Nepeta. Both of them. At the same time,” he said slowly. “What the hell.”

“Are you okay?” The Darkleer tilted his head.

Dirk shook his head slowly.

“First of all, in my time becoming romantically involved is something completely uncharacteristic for them. Second of all, your reasoning for our relation is really far-fetched and doesn't make sense. Third of all..."

After the last words, he pursed his lips so much they went white, somehow managing to stop announcing whatever thoughts he had, and the Darkleer watched him with a confused expression.

“Granny did tell us you were bad at figuring people and relationships out,” the Disciple said, the corners of her mouth turning downwards a little. “Sometimes people can get something they didn't expect to receive, our Mom in this case, and decide to do the right thing and take responsibility for her future. Anyway, don’t rain on our parade, it's been just Horuss and me for ages, we’ve dreamt about meeting a relative, _any_ kind of relative! Besides, does a relationship need to be official to be real?” The Disciple waved him off. “It was so unfair that our family knew Dace Hagler yet we've never met him. And now he comes to us from the past... Oh my god, Horuss!” She shook her brother violently, slipping into ecstatic state again. “What if it means Dace Hagler will stop the war?! Do you know whether there’s any prophecy about this?”

“Not that I know... And didn’t we agree to use the code names only?”

“Screw the code names, that’s our uncle who is Dace Hagler, and Jake, who is, I’m sure, great in every way as well,” she shook Jake’s hand and gave him a wide smile which he returned reluctantly; the muscles in his face felt wooden from how anxious he was recently. “I am Meulin Zahhak-Leijon.”

“Horuss Zahhak-Leijon,” her brother shook their hands as well.

“Your last name is so surreal,” Dirk commented dryly. “Also I'm being a killjoy again, but I’m not Dace Hagler. That’s Jake’s invention.”

Meulin’s smile grew even wider; she was eyeing Jake with great appreciation. “Oh, I should’ve known! You look a lot more like Dace Hagler, humanity’s hope, the man who travelled the world fighting for freedom, saving everyone in need from spirits!”

They must be confused, Jake thought, and as soon as he thought that, his mouth moved again.

“You must be confused, I’ve never done anything of substance, and I doubt I ever will. In our time, Dace Hagler is just an alias uniting me, Dirk, Jade, and Bec. Although we don’t actually use it.”

“Meaning Hagler isn’t one person, but many people at once?” Horuss asked in awe. “That makes sense, actually, that explains how he could move around the world so fast. Anyway, we’ve only got fifteen minutes of the serum left, so I’d better get to telling about the war, we’ll exchange all the personal stories later.”

He cleared his throat.

“Hmm. I’m no historian, but I know that the war started on September the nineteenth, sixty-one year ago," he counted on his fingers quickly. "So that means... It started three weeks after you left.”

Jake gasped and tugged Dirk’s sleeve, and saw his eyebrows cringe in worry. Three weeks seemed like no time at all.

“It started when the barrier between our realm and the spirit world was breached, and the twelve spirits trapped here were released from their vessels, establishing their reign over the humans. There was a lot of panic, because suddenly magic flooded the world and people had to accept it was real. Half of the population was killed in the first few months, including everyone in the government; even the Empress couldn't escape. This only raised more panic, people attempted to fight the spirits and the minions they brought from the other side of the barrier, like underlings and different ghouls, but were killed on the spot. In the end the ones who survived the massacre were the ones who kept quiet and attempted to study magic – also the ones who were scared, because the spirits wanted us to be scared. They weren’t planning on killing everyone, they needed something to rule over. And that’s when he appeared, Dace Hagler. He travelled the world, telling people about how magic worked and teaching them simple spells of defence and offence. He wasn’t the only one, of course, there were Tentacle Therapist, Calmasis, and other magicians, the ones who knew spiritual realm existed before the outbreak. So the survival began – the people learnt how to use spells, potions, and how to incorporate them in weapons; the others focused on keeping the mundane life going, they made sure there were crops and farms so that everyone could get enough food and clean water. They are still going, we have our own crops here in Nocteville,” Horuss sounded prideful. “Unfortunately, all the factories were shut down, all we can do it reuse old stuff, but magic helps with this.”

“We are simple people here in Nocteville,” Meulin picked up when he stopped to catch a breath. “We don’t participate in great big conspiracies against the spirits, that’s the magicians’ job. Our job is to protect the town and its people from spiritual stuff. For example, the fog you saw wasn’t the fog, it’s the spirit, uh, by-product, makes you hallucinate if you’re stuck in it long enough. The ghost bombs clean it up... Yes, yes, I know it’s not really a ghost, but Horuss thought it’s a _'cool'_ name.”

She wiggled her fingers to show the quotes, and Horuss huffed, “What, it _is_ cool!”

“Why are you in Nocteville, anyway?” Dirk asked. “I was under the impression that Equius and Nepeta didn’t intend to move from Avis.”

Horuss shook his head sadly. “Avis is a Space territory. The first thing it did when it came to power was raze the city to the ground, nobody lives there anymore, too dangerous.”

“Territory?” Jake echoed.

“Yes, the spirits have divided the land into twelve regions. Space got the biggest, because it’s their boss, or Empress, I don’t really know, but they called it Mistress. Everything from Nocteville to the Crystal Falls is Time’s territory, Life got Sandford and the surrounding towns, Doom covers northern area, et cetera.”

“People keep migrating to new areas,” Meulin continued. “Everyone thinks their spirit is the worst, so they keep searching for a less painful existence. The trouble is, there’s no such thing. Some of them joined the spirits, the ones that wanted human slaves or assistants. There was this guy, Lord English, who almost succeeded in becoming Space’s right-hand man... Everyone calls them traitors, but honestly, I don’t really blame them.”

“There’s a ton of people in Fenestram, where Mind rules. Mind doesn’t like killing people for the sake of killing, so they think they are safe there – but instead each day it picks a new victim to play with their mind. When you come to your senses and see your hands drenched in blood of your friends, or worse...” Horuss sighed.

“We used to live there for a while," Meulin shuddered. "But then we came here. Time turned out not to be that bad, it was sending people back and forth in time sometimes, but the problem is that it needs to create stable time loops, or whatever it’s called, that’s why the time trips aren’t that frequent. Time – the one that builds the matter of the universe – is the most complicated part of magic, even for a spirit. So recently its favourite trick became making a person relive the same short period of time for million times. And making people age rapidly is a pretty popular torture as well.”

“I'm sorry,” Jake couldn't resist saying, pitying all the people who lived in this horrible world, unable to imagine how they managed to survive.

“It's okay,” Meulin waved her hand. “We are used to stuff like this. Every single one of us is prepared to die since the moment we are born.”

“Wait a second,” Dirk raised his hands. “Doesn’t it make it a time paradox that we appeared in the timeline where we already exist? To think about it, it doesn’t make sense, if we disappeared sixty-one years ago, there shouldn’t be any Dace Hagler.”

“Oh, but multiple timelines can exist simultaneously! You were thrown into a timeline different from yours, where, apparently, you’ve never been to the future.”

“So, Jade from our timeline...” Jake began slowly, a horrible realization dawning on him. “She was left all alone for sixty years, till the very end?”

“I’m sorry,” Meulin said, placing a hand of his knee.

“Time is flux,” Horuss said. “Currently you’ve disappeared from her life completely, but if you find a way to get back, she’ll only miss you for a few days.”

“ _When_ , not _if_ ,” Jake said firmly. He’s never been so determined to do something. “Do you know what can get us back?”

The siblings exchanged glances.

“I suppose time can be the answer,” Horuss said. “You don’t belong in this timeline, you are like a splinter stuck in it, metaphorical pus is going to form around you, and it’ll push you out. Maybe. Sorry, I don’t know time very well, and like I said, it’s the most complicated thing in existence.”

“Then show us someone who does know it,” Jake stood up, and Meulin’s smile dropped in disappointment, just as the clock rang, signifying the end of the serum's influence.

“You can’t leave, it’s like running naked in winter, you’re so unprepared!”

“Right, in that case, do a short excursus into magic,” he sat back down, and then added, suddenly realizing he sounded rude. "Please."

Meulin bit her lip, hesitant for a moment, but then smiled.

“Okay, let's see how well you can handle magic. We can start with a handy fixing spell,” she pointed at his sleeve that was torn while they were covering from the explosion. “It’s fairly easy, and saved us so many times when we needed a quick rough patching up. Just touch whatever you want stitched and say _Manelci Nola_.”

Jake did just that, but nothing happened.

“No-no-no,” Meulin shook her head. “You’re just _saying_ words, it’s not enough! You must reach out to magic, become one with it and bend it to your will! I – I don't know how to explain it," she waved her hands vaguely, "it's just – you have to believe you're a magician to do magic. Don't worry, try it again."

Jake closed his eyes, trying to remember the wonder and freedom he felt when he was trapped in Void's illusionary space, the feel of everything around him being laced with a source of limitless possibilities; he thought of Jade and Bec and how he had to get back to them, thought of Dirk and how he needed to get him out of here.

He said _Manelci Nola_ again, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that the sleeve looked good as new.

“Wow, you’re a natural!” Horuss exclaimed with wide eyes, and Meulin's mouth formed an O shape.

“Dirk, did you see it?!” Jake turned to him in excitement. “Do you want to try?”

“Uh, why not,” he said, clearly hesitating, and touched his ripped coat. “Manelci Nola. God, I feel ridiculous. The only thing that's missing is a pointy hat and a cloak with a star ornament.”

Meulin huffed. “With this attitude you’ll never learn magic, uncle Dirk.”

“Frankly, I don’t feel any magic inside myself,” Dirk touched his chest as if he expected an organ responsible for wizardry to pop up in there.

“That’s okay,” Horuss said. “Many people find it hard to understand how to harvest power from an abstract concept at first. People like Jake here, who get it on the first or second try, are incredibly rare. You will learn.”

Dirk gave a little displeased scowl, but Jake’s mood lightened a bit, shifting from constant subconscious fear for Jade to realization that he will be able to use real magic without any restrictions here.

“The same spell can be used for instant healing, works with small cuts,” Meulin rolled Jake’s sleeve up, revealing scratched skin. “You just need to add a droplet of dandelion essence, and your skin will patch itself up.”

Jake dripped the liquid from the flask she gave him, and indeed, the spell healed the cut that very second.

Meulin's smile was wide, as if it was her personal achievement.

“Like I said, you must be great! Obviously, because you are Dace Hagler, and Dace Hagler is the legend. How does being a legend feel?”

“Uh, not that different from being an ordinary fellow,” Jake said. Meulin still hasn’t released his hand, and he tugged it politely, but her grip was strong.

“To be honest, when people spoke of Dace Hagler, I’ve always imagined him as an old wizard, beard three meters long, like in fairytales,” she winked at him. “Who knew he would turn out to be such an attractive young man.”

“Um, yeah, t-thanks,” he freed his hand and shifted a centimetre away from her.

“Why don’t you show us how the portal glove works instead?” Dirk asked.

“Eh, Horuss can explain all the technical stuff,” she shrugged and threw the glove at her brother.

Horuss beckoned Dirk to follow him to the basement.

“I will love it, uncle Dirk. We have all the stuff, like ghost bombs, flaming arrows that you saw, enchanted swords, virus detectors, a bunch of transmission globes, a psychic arch, goggles for enhanced vision...”

His voice grew quieter as he descended down the staircase; it seemed for a moment like Dirk was going to protest and stay here, but at the mention of virus detectors he threw a quick “Be back soon” at Jake and disappeared after Horuss.

Jake glanced at Meulin nervously, afraid she would do more suggestive things, but she merely smiled and handed him another flask.

“Here you go, to numb the pain.”

“It’s okay, I don't have any more scratches.”

“I meant emotional pain. Believe me, I know what it’s like, to worry about your friends and family so much you literally throw up, because you can’t take it any longer, and sometimes you even think it’s the best not to get attached at all... Drink, it’s no crime. Ease the pain of losing your sister.”

Jake remembered the wedding and how Rose wanted to alter guests’ perception of encountering Life and Void; he still stood by the notion that changing emotions was wrong.

“No, I don’t think I want to,” he said. “I haven’t lost her yet.”

Meulin sighed. “Take it anyway. In case your time-travelling plans don’t work out as well as you want. Just trust me when I say I know what the worst feels like.”

She outstretched her hand and stashed the flask in Jake’s waistcoat pocket.

“What happened to you?” He asked, pointing at the scar on her head.

She touched the rough skin and smiled.

“Oh, it's nothing, just a regular casualty. I went to save Horuss when he was captured by Life, and I was a little careless… I have to thank you, by the way, if it wasn't for Dace Hagler's healing spells I would be completely deaf and blind. Now I'm just deaf in one ear, and have to wear hearing aids in another,” she pointed at a small silver hoop that Jake previously assumed was an earring.

“You are welcome,” he said, kind of ashamed to take the praise that was directed at another person. “That was… very heroic of you to rescue your brother like that,” he added, not really knowing what a person was expected to say in such a situation.

Meulin waved her hand. “Oh please, it doesn't make me special at the slightest, all of us have stories like this. Ask Horuss about how he had to get his spine fixed after we went to save our people from Void's clutches,” her smile faltered for a moment, but she still sounded peppy when she said, “Well now, why don’t I write down some simple spells I know, so you can practice and become even more amazing.”

Jake lent her the journal he still had stashed in the waistcoat, the same one that created the illusionary world in Sandford. Meulin’s spells covered all the empty pages, while Jake told her about what the past was like, every memory he had seemed shinier compared to the gloomy, shabby entourage of the barrack they were in.

Horuss and Dirk joined them soon, chattering excitedly and carrying boxes full of prototypes of magical weapons, and Horuss listened with opened mouth, asking if the people from the past could really go on a vacation to a seaside and sunbathe all day, and what kind of meals they used to make for themselves, and if the chocolate pudding he kept reading about was any good.

It was just sad.

“Hold on, I think I’ve got something you might like,” Jake said and rummaged through his pockets, fishing out a chocolate bar he forgot about. “You said factories didn’t produce chocolate anymore.”

What a horrible, pitiful future awaited them, Jake thought as he saw Horuss's and Meulin’s faces lit up after they nibbled at the bar, proclaimed it the food of gods, and hid it in a box, saying they’d save it for a rainy day.

Jake suddenly thought that this was what old people must feel like, when they give little children colourful wrappers to play with, because they know kids get excited to receive anything, so they don’t have to try.

He felt so old and tired, and they’ve only been in the future for mere hours; maybe Jade was lucky to stay in the past and never see what the world would turn into.

Dirk placed a hand on Jake’s wrist, and when they looked at each other, they didn’t need any telepathy or psychic powers the future people had to have complete mutual understanding.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Meulin asked, regarding them curiously, “are you two, like, together?”

“No,” they answered in unison, and Dirk's hand dropped down.

“Oh, it means you're single?” She asked Jake, smiling wider.

_That's what you needed to complete the picture, an unknown girl's advances,_ his inner voice said sarcastically.

Horuss rolled his eyes.

“Y-yes, but, ah, I'm not interested in finding anyone,” Jake stuttered.

“Yeah, you'd better back off, Meulin,” Dirk said.

“Why? You have no idea how boring it gets here, I haven't seen new people in years.”

“Because if you end up getting married, it'll make Jake my stepnephew-in-law, and that's a set of words I don't want to use ever again.”

Jake started when both Horuss and Meulin roared with laughter; it seemed strange to him, their mere ability to laugh in a world like that. But then he realized that if they had chosen to marinate in misery and despair without any humour, they wouldn't have survived. After all, humour was the best armour.

“It's a shame you can't stay,” Horuss wiped his tears off. “I just thought, if you are here, it's a sign that we'll be able to defeat the spirits once and for all...”

“Sorry,” Jake said. “But we really need to find someone who can reverse time. Who is the best magician around here?”

“That would be Tentacle Therapist, of course,” Horuss said.

Jake and Dirk exchanged excited looks. “Rose is still alive!”

That was a relief; if there was a person who could help them, it was Rose Lalonde. Especially now that she was a wise, sophisticated eighty-six-year-old woman.

“Ha, I told you TT is a woman!” Horuss said, slapping Meulin's back. “Now you will do my chores for a week.”

Meulin huffed.

“Whatever, you still haven't granted the wish I won from you from that time you killed less underlings than me… Tentacle Therapist's persona is the most mysterious one,” she explained, spotting their questioning looks. “We didn't even know what they look like, or if that's a man, a woman, or someone else... And we get kinda bored here, so we bet on everything. It's a form of entertainment,” she smiled apologetically.

“Tentacle Therapist is Rose, our friend,” Jake said.

It would be good to see Rose… even though she'd ask where Jade and Bec were, and Jake would have to explain, reliving his failure all over again.

Horuss and Meulin gave them a new map and helped them equip for the journey, giving them a ton of potions for all occasions (“From shaking mind control off to turning any water clean,” Meulin said), ghost grenades (“Like ghost bombs, only smaller,” Horuss said), a huge bundle of pendants to keep them from being spotted, and finally, a letter Meulin gave Jake personally.

“I've prepared a quest for you to make your studies more exciting!” She said. “It's a little secret about magic. But you should promise to open it only after you've mastered all the spells I gave you.”

“Okay,” Jake moved to put the letter into the pocket, but Meulin was holding it tightly.

“No, you need to _promise_!”

“I promise,” Jake said, still too numb to feel genuine curiosity.

Meulin smiled in approval and brushed a speck of dust off his shoulder.

“Any chance you will lend us the portal glove?” Dirk asked after Horuss put the said glove on and uttered some spells, setting the destination.

“No, sorry. This thing is what keeps our commune safe,” he hit a couple of buttons. “You are important shits, but we have an obligation with our people. Alright, the furthest I can transport you is Kemfeld village, that’s where Time’s territory ends, but Leuna, where Tentacle Therapist resides, is only forty kilometers of walking from there, shouldn’t be too hard. Just keep an eye for underlings, ghouls, the fog, weird scents, weird lights, voices calling for you... Basically ignore everything and walk straight ahead.”

“If you get back in your time, say hello to Gramps and Granny from us,” Meulin said. “And to Mom too! Although...” She fell deep in thought. “Maybe you shouldn’t, what if it distorts the space-time continuum, and we are never born? You’d better wait till Mom’s born!”

“Deal,” Dirk said, and shook hands with her and Horuss.

“Take care and good luck, I hope we'll see you again,” Meulin hugged Jake tightly and whispered into his ear, “I know you can do it.”

“Destination: Kemfeld,” Horuss told the glove, and it punched a hole in space again.

“Thank you for your help,” Dirk said and motioned Jake to go first.

“Goodbye,” he waved at the twins, closed his eyes, and stepped into the portal; nervous despite trusting them.

***

Sixty-one years and two hours ago Jade Harley didn't know about her fate yet, but she was sure it prophesied nothing good.

She was terrified for her brother and best friend, as well as for Bec and herself, facing the spirit of Time on their own.

Jade gripped the rifle tighter; she knew it couldn't harm a spirit, but it made her feel confident and gave her strength to sound fearless when she shouted, “What did you do with them?!”

“Sent them to another point in time,” the spirit said. Its intonations were foreign, but the voice was clearly Aradia's.

“Well,” she cocked the rifle, “Bring them back!”

“I can't do that,” the spirit said.

“Oh, like hell you can't! Are you Time or what? Bring them back, or I swear to god, I'll find a way to destroy you right here on the spot!!”

Bec growled to support her words, and the spirit studied him.

“It's not within my powers,” it said; its detached intonations didn't change. “As you know, when a spirit occupies a human vessel with their native realm sealed off, their powers are limited. I can send humans and objects in different points of time. I can't bring them back. However...”

It paused, and its blazing gaze buried in Jade with such intensity, she shivered.

“If you just open the portal to break the barrier, I will get gain full control and will be able to snatch anyone from any point of time.”

Jade expected this proposition, and she already knew the answer.

“The damn portal will be opened over my dead body!”

“That can be arranged. But don't you want to see your brother again?”

“Of course I do. But I don't have to listen to you, there are always multiple ways to achieve one's goal.”

Jade had no idea what those alternative ways were, but she had to think of something; because there was no way she would be selfish enough to want to rejoin with Jake at the price of the whole world. Neither Jake nor Dirk would want her to do that.

"You will come to me sooner or later," the spirit said with calm condescension. "I am Time, I can wait. In the meantime, why don't we entertain ourselves with some questions. I'm only here to talk."

"The woman whose body you are possessing said the same thing before betraying us," Jade said; the spirit wasn't attacking, which meant the best thing she could do was keeping it talking to buy herself some time to remember the ritual of a binding circle to trap it like they did with Mind. However, terrible stress and fear that the spirit would guess her thoughts prevented her from remembering a single line of the spell; she tried to signal Bec to bring her the journals discreetly.

"But yes, questions, good, I go first then," Jade continued. "You said Jake was irrelevant. Why?"

"Because he is irrelevant to current circumstances."

"So you keep saying, but what does it _mean_?" Jade waved her hands frantically to distract the spirit from Bec, who sneaked into the dirigible.

"It means he wouldn't be able to change anything in this point of time."

"What if he becomes relevant later, and you can’t return him? It destroys the concept of your existence!"

Time made a sound that could be mistaken for a laugh.

"You won't be able to con me into finding a way to bring him back like that. I am telling the truth, he is irrelevant. You, however... It may seem you are just a pawn in current events, but you are going to become a key figure very soon, that's why I don't touch you. See, all the aces are in your sleeves. Would you like to know more? Just tell me where Light is, and together we can shape the future according to our own needs-"

"Yeah, tough luck, sis."

She dropped on the ground, rolling over, grabbing Aradia's bottles, hoping that the potions she got there didn't work only on humans; she sprayed all of them at once, and a thick cloud of gas covered them both.

Jade coughed, covering her eyes and mouth and crawled to Bec, but instead of journals, she saw that he was holding a bag with hellebore and celandine extract.

“No, Bec! I needed a spell for the binding-”

But then it hit her, and she remembered studying the paralysing potion – the one she knew by heart with how much she practised; and a beautiful solution formed in her mind.

Now she could only hope Time disturbed the balance of magic enough for the spell to work.

“Thanks, Bec, now I just need some chamomile infusion...” She began sniffing Aradia's bottles, remembering detecting the scent of chamomile in one of the potions she squirted at them. “Bingo!”

She ripped the lid off and dumped both herbs inside, whispering the spells and trying to convince herself that pricking in her fingertips wasn't the result of poisonous gas, but magic running through her veins.

She threw the bottle at Bec, muttering, “Throw it into gas tank,” and sprayed the rest on the bullets she stuffed in her rifle, just in time before a pair of sizzling hot hands grabbed her throat and lifted her off the ground.

“Who is back-stabbing now?” Time asked, while Jade struggled to peal its fingers of with one hand, still clasping the rifle with another. Her eyes watered, she could feel the skin coming off under the fiery grip; her first thought was to scream for Jake, before she remembered that she and Bec were alone now.

"You may be more useful alive," Time said, "But it doesn't mean I can't make every cell of your carbon-based body wither and decay under the pressure of time."

Jade let out a shrill scream of terror as horrible pain shot through her, as if her entire body was crushed between thick metal plates.

"Most humans don't live longer than eighty years," Time continued. "How would you feel if I made you two hundred years old for a moment?"

Jade writhed in pain again, but it was different, she saw skin on her hands shrivelling and covering in pigment, but only for a moment, before she went completely blind – either because of aging or because she couldn't get any air in her lungs, and her screams turned into wheezing.

Suddenly Jade crashed onto the ground, blessed air filling her lungs and caressing burnt throat; she looked over her trembling hands to see the skin returned to its regular state, and saw Bec hanging from one of the spirit's arms.

It shook Bec violently and launched him with immense strength – he crashed into a tree with a terrible crunch and slid down.

Jade wanted to shout for him, but couldn't produce a sound; she scrambled to run, but the spirit grabbed her again.

"Have I convinced you to be obedient yet?" It asked.

_This is a perfect time for a catchphrase_ , a ridiculous thought appeared; but Jade still couldn't talk, so instead she just fired at the dirigible.

A gas tank burst and stream of gas, mixed with the paralyzing potion, hit them, Jade knew her spell worked because her left leg and the arm she was shielding herself with lost all senses and dropped by her side like a rag.

Time stood frozen, and Jade knew had no longer than two minutes, but it gave her time to check on Bec and see that he was standing up.

“I so glad you're alright,” she croaked and hugged him briefly. “Bec, I really need the binding spell, where is Jake's journal?”

Bec whined and lowered his head.

Jade smacked her forehead. “Oh crap, of course he had to take it with him… Come on Jade, you were there, you must remember the damn words!”

She strained her memory, trying to remember the way they captured Mind (which was tough, seeing how she expected the power of the potion to wear off any second), but remembered another thing instead. If Mind could be weakened by heat, its opposite characteristic, perhaps cold would do the same for Time?

“Bec, help me!”

She crawled to the house and ignored all the pain in favour of unplugging the fridge and ripping shelves with food out of it, dragging it outside with Bec's help.

Jade reluctantly touched Time's frozen figure, and after making sure it couldn't move, she and Bec pushed it inside the fridge and slammed the door.

“Okay, this is going to slow it down, right? God, I hope it does.”

There was no one to answer her, but talking aloud helped Jade to calm the panic that threatened to break out.

“Now, the binding spell. I remember there was a blood circle,” she cut a finger on the paralyzed arm and drew a line of blood that wrapped around the fridge.

“And the spell sounded like… Hmm... Hmmmm...”

Jade tried every alternative of the spell, and on the twentieth try the crimson line blazed with light, and a familiar transparent cage shot straight up, wrapping the fridge with a thick, barely visible wall.

Jade fell down, unable to support herself on one leg any longer, and exhaled slowly.

“Well… We did it, Bec, didn't we? I mean, it worked with Mind, so it's bound to work now too?”

Bec simply poked his nose at her cheek, and she hugged him with one arm, burying her face into his comforting white fur, allowing herself to relax and feel the dull pain still lingering in her skin and bones.

“Oh, Bec, what do we do now? Time was the only one capable of bringing Jake and Dirk back… It was right, I _will_ have to come to it again.”

Jade sighed, and Bec whined softly, pressing into her, careful to avoid touching her burnt neck. Jade returned his dog equivalent of a hug and stroke his ears.

“But at least we caught it!” She forced a short laugh. “We trapped the spirit into a fucking refrigerator. Jake would've loved it.”

Helplessness washed over her with such force, it made her want to cry.

The only other person who could possibly help was Rose, but how on Earth was she going to reach her?

Jade wiped her eyes and let go of Bec.

There was no time to feel sorry for herself.

“Bec, bring me the transmitter, please. And also the potion book, I need to un-paralyze myself.”

***

Merciless wind whipped Jake's face, and he squinted at the surroundings, shielding with both hands.

There were crops of abandoned overgrown rue around them, and Kemfeld could be seen in the distance; it was a village far away from Nocteville, it would’ve taken them a couple of days to reach it on the dirigible.

The thought stung with pain again – the dirigible was probably destroyed too, just like their home.

“This way,” Dirk consulted the map and pointed at the abandoned crops.

Jake started walking without further ado; it was as if the nature was mocking him, forcing him to walk against the wind.

“Horuss told me a lot about current technology,” Dirk caught up with him instantly. “If I didn’t believe this is the future, the amount of progress they had would convince me. Although a lot of people rely of magic, they’ve developed technology as well, sometimes incorporating the two. For example, they have this energy converter where magic is used like fuel, providing the movement for their machines. I hope Rose will introduce us to some of the inventors, because Horuss didn't do a good job at explaining. When I asked him how the portal glove worked, he said it's space magic and it just does. How can one call themselves an engineer if their answer to everything is 'it just magically happens and I will in no way question it'? I don't know what kind of things Equius taught him... I thought he would make sure his own grandson's education was thorough, he should have been great at it, he had me to practice.”

He snorted, and Jake hummed politely, finding himself unable to laugh.

He thought that maybe it was why Dirk wasn't able to use magic on both occasions – he was thinking too much, trying to find reasoning, while the origins of magic were out of this world, and most likely out of the range of human understanding.

And maybe that's why Jake himself could do it, he thought bitterly. When it came to not thinking he was simply the best there is.

He opened the journal and read the first line in Meulin's clumsy handwriting: “ _Cornelum Lucora_ is for light – will create a flare without any warmth. Just concentrate the matter in your fist – although I'm sure you know what to do without any instructions.”

She drew a lot of smiley faces after that.

Magic was very intuitive, Jake thought, because outstretching a hand and wrapping a fist around nothingness as if catching a butterfly, saying the words, and then gently releasing a flare of white light seemed like the rightest thing to do.

They watched the flare rise in the air, flicker, and fade after a while.

It seemed Jake had finally found something he was good at.

“How did you do it?” Dirk asked.

“I said the spell and made this sort of grabbing movement, that's what Meulin's instructions said,” Jake replied.

“This can't be all, there must be something else,” Dirk said, annoyance clear in his voice.

Jake shrugged; he was less than interested in what made the spells work right now. Not when Jade was in mortal danger.

“I guess I also _wanted_ it to appear.”

“No, that's not the answer. If everyone relied on sheer power of desire, everyone would get whatever they wanted, and that's impossible.”

“You keep trying to find excuses and explanations, why can't you accept that you are simply unable to do what everyone else can?” Jake snapped and regretted his irritated tone instantly. He shouldn't take out his anger on the closest person he had.

“That's not why I want explanations,” Dirk said quietly.

“I know,” Jake cast down his eyes. “I'm sorry.”

The rest of the spells from the first page were a lot harder to perform, despite being simply environment-altering, according to Meulin. Perhaps it was because Jake felt as if his soul was ran through a meat-grinder, or because he felt extremely tired; by the time they reached another village he was in dire need of rest, and he dreaded the fact that they've only walked half the distance.

The village looked like it was bombarded, some houses were blown up, some merely lost their top floors; the streets were wiped clean of everything. All the trash was blown away by the wind a long time ago, and now the cracked stone paths didn’t bear any signs of people ever being here. Like in Nocteville, there were no sounds and no living creatures.

The remaining doors and windows were all covered by nailed down wooden and metal plates.

“Maybe you should lay off magic for a while,” Dirk sounded worried. “You look haggard.”

Jake wiped the sweat off his brow; if only Meulin mentioned how to control the amount energy he was putting into spells. He felt as though he ran a marathon from Nocteville to Avis.

“Yeah... I just need to sit down for a second, that’s all.”

“I reckon we can use one of the houses,” Dirk suggested. “Nobody seems to live here.”

In lieu of answering Jake walked to the least destroyed house and climbed through a hole where the door once was, lighting up the flare (that now lasted a lot longer) that shed light onto surfaces layered thickly with dust.

Dirk followed and grabbed a jar from the kitchen stand immediately.

“Look, they’ve even got cookies,” he bit into one of them and spit it out immediately. “No, don’t eat them, they taste like they’re a million year old rocks that were tamped with dinosaurs' feet.”

Jake cracked the door to the living room open, thinking that maybe he could find an armchair there.

His steps were a soft shuffling on the worn carpet, loud in the unnatural quietness of the house, as he entered the small living room.

It was a lot darker, the flare being the only source of light. The windows were closed, and the mouldy smell was almost unbearable; but Dirk and Jake spotted the shelf with the books immediately. Unfortunately, when Jake held the flare closer to the spines of the books, he saw that they were mostly fiction, many of which he remembered from his time. The publishing business must have died out here.

Suddenly a familiar name caught his eyes, and he pulled out a thin book that had its pages bound by hand. The title said, _Dace Hagler. Revelations. Volume 2._

“Let's look for other volumes,” Dirk said when Jake showed him the title. “Can you make more light?”

Jake’s whisper was a quiet rustling against the deaf silence of the house; he uttered _Cornelum Lucora_ to create two extra flares. They were harder to balance, so he sent them floating to the ceiling, next to a mouldy hole where a lamp once was, now covered in abandoned webs.

Dim light shone brighter, cold flickers danced on various surfaces of the room – Jake was just about to turn back to the shelf, when with paralyzing terror he spotted a figure sitting at the couch out of the corner of his eye.

There was someone else in room with them.

He spun around and flashed the light at it, and yelped, jumping and grabbing onto Dirk, when it illuminated hollow eye sockets and shrivelled brownish skin of a corpse.

The flare went out; Dirk whipped out his sword and pushed Jake behind him in a span of a second, but relaxed upon seeing they were in no immediate danger.

Jake lit up the flare again with a shaking hand, pulse thumping loud in his ears; the skin, covered in dark spots and rotting patches, hugged the skeleton tightly, and Jake looked away, feeling suddenly sick.

They've broken into the house of a dead person, and they've been watching them this whole time.

“Dirk, let's go,” Jake tugged at his sleeve, still holding on to him like his life depended on it.

“Why? They're just dead and have been this way for a long time,” Dirk said, probing the body with the tip of the sword. The taut skin popped and the skeleton’s head tipped on its shoulder, as if it was disappointed by Dirk’s actions. “We can go to another house if you want to, although I suspect they are all the same, it seems this one was killed instantly, by something like poisonous gas.”

He sniffed the air and traced a finger over the surface of the table to inspect the dust.

“And leave you to the mercy of a vengeful ghost? No way!”

“Ghosts aren't real, Jake,” Dirk said calmly, returning to the shelf. “At least, not the ones you are thinking about.”

Jake couldn't bear looking at the corpse, but also he couldn't turn his back on it, in fear of it coming to life and jumping on them.

Unable to stop himself, Jake wrapped his hands around his chest; the flares wavered, but didn’t go out this time.

“That's what you said about magic too,” he hissed. “And about time travelling.”

“Still, ghosts don’t exist. Horuss and Meulin would've warned us if they did.”

“Is it what you really think, or is it you being level-headed so that I can relax?” Jake snapped, breaking an unspoken rule of not addressing anything said against their will.

“It doesn't matter,” Dirk replied shortly, stuffed some books in the bag Horuss gave him, and opened the cupboard drawers, looking over the contents with a slightly disappointed expression, and huffing after spotting a record labelled _Stayin’ Alive_. “Oh the irony... Are you going to take something else?”

“No, thanks,” Jake mumbled, thinking that it was marauding, and then practically dragged Dirk outside, under the grey sky permanently covered in dusty clouds.

He wanted to feel the breeze of fresh air, but he couldn't, now that he knew it wasn't an _empty_ town – it was _dead_ , with faded colours and descending fog seeping through the cracks of the houses and nailed down windows.

“We can go sit over there,” Dirk pointed at the construction that used to be a fountain. It had no water now, and it was hard to find a spot free from rusty metal beams sticking out of the cold broken marble.

Jake wished he could relax, but in fact he felt the most anxious he's ever been in his entire life. So many things could happen at once – unknown magic, ghosts chasing them, the spirits detecting them…

He wished he could hide somewhere and wait till it’s over – but there was no place untouched by the spirit war, and the ‘over’ has already arrived.

He opened the book he got from the house and skimmed the first few pages – and then had to reread everything, because he couldn't believe his eyes.

“Dirk, look,” he shoved the book at him, and Dirk frowned at the text.

“This sounds an awful lot like the events that happened to us.”

“Because they are. Look at the introduction, it says here that the author recovered my old drafts… I wonder where I was at that moment.”

_'What if I was dead'_ was clearly implied, and the spark of curiosity that appeared after seeing his own writing interpreted by another person died right away.

“Probably busy saving the world, no time to focus on writing,” Dirk said and examined his own books. “Huh, I thought _Immortal Spirit_ will be the guide to what spirits are, but it's just agitational literature about never giving up. _Who Wants To Live Forever_ , same... _The Face Of the Monster_ , same. _Soul Power_... This one seems to be about magic, finally.”

Dirk disregarded the rest of the books carelessly and flipped through the pages of the last one.

“ _A ritual to preserve your soul in its current state with no chance for a spirit to damage your true intentions even when presented with the darkest desires of death and destruction or falling a victim to the most powerful transcendental entity’s suppression is the most complicated part of soul magic of all..._ _For a skilled magician forever familiar with the finest functionings of the outworldly creatures the power of will to keep themselves pure can become both a weapon and a source..._ So on and so forth... Have we hunted commas to extinction in this future? Here you go, you should be able to decipher this better than me.”

Dirk shoved the book into Jake’s hands, but he didn’t even look at the cover.

The fog was creeping up to them, and Jake remembered Horuss's warning.

“Do you think it might be that ghost-fog?”

“No idea, but let's not take any risks.”

Dirk took a couple of grenades, ripped their pins out, and threw them into the fog; they blew up a lot quieter than the bombs and lit the dispersing fog with scarlet.

Dirk took the last grenades, when suddenly Jake heard a faint but painfully familiar voice calling his name; he leaped to his feet instantly, looking around.

“Did you hear it?!” He asked hectically, trying to make out Jade’s silhouette in the mist.

“Jake, remember what Horuss said about voices,” Dirk warned, standing up as well.

“I know, but it's… What if… Oh my god,” his face lit up with hope; realization and solution for all their problems striking him. “Of course, I'm such an idiot! The spirit must've transported Jade here as well once we left! We just had to wait for her in Nocteville! JADE!!”

He shouted at the distance and got another yell in response; and while the rational part of his mind knew it was a hoax, he's always been good at shutting it down.

Everything would become so much better if they were reunited with Jade.

Dirk met his enthusiasm with wariness and pity, and gripped Jake's hands firmly, preventing him from moving.

“It's an illusion. You should check it to see for yourself, ask something only Jade would know.”

Jake tugged his hands impatiently, and shouted, “Fine, Jade, what gift did you give me for my tenth birthday?!”

Deafening silence was the answer, he waited and waited, but there was nothing. The tiny bubble of hope that dared to appear for mere seconds – small but so, so warm – was blown up. Of course it was too good to be true; and there was nothing but cold gloom again.

Dirk's expression was strangely regretful for a moment, and he threw all the remaining grenades at once. The fog disappeared completely – and then Jake just slumped on the ground against the fountain, metal beams digging into his back, hoping it's just a nightmare, he's fallen asleep, and when he woke up, everything would be normal again.

Dirk sat next to him.

“I think illusions were its defence mechanism, it didn't want to be destroyed, so it was trying to appeal to you… That's interesting, right? Interesting new thing about magic to learn?”

“Yeah,” was all Jake managed to say, hugging his knees he brought to his chest.

And then, like a culmination of today’s miserable eternal journey, everything hit him at once: the fact that they were stuck in a foreign time, in a whole different world that was so grim and different, Jade was left _alone_ in the past, and there was nothing he could do to help, and Dirk must be hating him right now because Jake acted like a dead weight on his shoulders, throwing himself at obvious illusions, while he acted calm for _Jake's_ sake, and that they've just been to a house with a dead body nobody cared to bury, because there was nobody to return to it, and how everyone they knew was either old or dead…

He pulled at his hair, covering his face and knocking the glasses askew, and couldn't contain utter misery inside any longer. Hot tears boiled in his eyes, and he squeezed his eyes shut to stop them, pressing at his eyes so hard he saw sparks.

"Oh, come on, Jake... Don't – er – cry," Dirk said, touching his shoulder hesitantly, and his words, his uncharacteristically helpless voice were enough for Jake to break into full sobbing.

The ideas that have been developing inside his mind ever since were finally turning into something tangible.

"I just w-want... I just want to go home," he forced the words out, scraping his nails over his forehead – but the pain was measly compared to everything else. "I thought it’s going to be a whimsical adventure, like in Grandma’s stories... Why haven’t anyone ever told me it’s going to be like this, so... _bad_? I want to go back to w-when Grandma and Grandpa were alive... I'm _sick_ of being like this, like everything's stopped once they were gone, and nothing's changed since... Why does it have to happen, t-this world is awful...”

“It's not-” Dirk began, but stopped. Of course, saying _it's not that bad_ was ridiculous. “There are some neat things though. Like magic, you like magic.”

Jake pressed at his eyes harder, his shoulder shaking. How could he compare magic to having Jade and Bec by his side and being safe at home in Nocteville, all four of them, not having to deal with _anything_ harmful.

Dirk sighed and slung an arm around Jake's shoulders, tipping him close to his side awkwardly. Jake clung onto him and buried his face in Dirk's shoulder without a second thought; it was a surprisingly natural act.

For some reason, Dirk’s coat smelled like gunpowder.

Must have been the weapons he and Horuss inspected.

Dirk’s steady hands held him, grounding him in reality, in the only connection Jake had to real life.

“If it's any conciliation, I know how it feels,” Dirk said. “The situation might have changed right now, but when I lived in the commune, and even in Canteth, I often wondered when this boredom and misery would end, and whether there was anything else outside those frontiers. Then I moved to Avis and thought I had it all. My life was planned and my goals were clear," he paused. "And then I met you. I realized how lonely I really was, and that there was so much more to life than I ever saw... I guess I owe you for this realization. And perhaps, one day something like this will happen to you, something that will change the way you view the world.”

Jake held his breath, sobs constricting his throat.

For him, this moment has already happened.

Then why he was still so focused on something no revelation could change?

Dirk huffed a short laugh. “Which is also an interesting thing, since this place confirmed the existence of alternate universes, there is also a universe where your dirigible never broke down. I wonder what our lives would turn into if we've never met.”

They would never start this ordeal with the spirits, Jake thought, and never would've ended up in this wasteland.

But on the other hand, it was perfectly clear for Jake that it was a just enough price to pay for getting to know Dirk and becoming his friend – if he had a chance to go back in time and avert their meeting, he would never use it.

But what if Jade died in the past, and he could prevent it by erasing their adventures from existence? What would he do then?

Why did he always have to choose between Jade and Dirk, why couldn't he have both?

And if magic was real, why couldn't there be a magical way out that would solve all their problems?

Strangely, this thought calmed down the swarm of questions – like an ocean after a storm, a hurricane was subdued, but still ready to rise up once more. Magic opened up unimaginable possibilities, and he's just began scratching the surface of its true power – certainly there was going to be a spell that would help them get back.

Jake turned his head ever so slightly, just to be able to speak freely.

“Do you regret it?” He asked. “Getting into the spirit business?”

“Sometimes I do, yes,” Dirk answered. “But there are things that make times like this worth the suffering.”

This was something Jake whole-heartedly agreed with. And frankly, now that he thought about it, if he had to choose one person to get stuck in the future with, it would be Dirk.

This world may be horrible, but it wasn't completely hopeless, not when they were together.

“Time said I was irrelevant…" He asked after a while. "What did she mean?”

_Am I really good for nothing?_ He wanted to add.

“It was just being an ass, trying to insult you,” Dirk said, but his brows furrowed.

“Even the spirits have figured out my true value,” Jake let out a humourless laugh.

Dirk’s frown deepened.

“It simply chose you because...”

“Because I’m irrelevant compared to you and Jade, and even Bec,” Jake finished when Dirk paused. He was drained of all emotion, unable to feel disappointment anymore, so the words came out light-hearted.

Dirk sighed and regarded him with a heavy gaze, not being tricked with his tone for one second.

“How do you expect a spirit who’s been asleep for two thousand years to give a legitimate outlook on our situation and see your real strengths? Perhaps, it really sensed that in that tiny given moment Jade or I would do something that would harm it, but it doesn’t mean that in a bajillion of other moments, both future and past, you wouldn’t do it too. Anyway, we'd better go before it gets dark.”

Jake almost moaned at this suggestion – he felt completely drained of all energy, and getting up and walking was the last thing he wanted. He wished he could stay in the protective cocoon of Dirk's embrace forever, without having to look at the surroundings. But at the same time he didn't want to stay in the dead town any longer, so he made his jelly legs move and stood up from the ground.

Perhaps, Rose would have a guest room with a chintz couch, a hand-knitted blanket, and a nice cup of tea ready for them when they arrive.

He wiped his cheeks and took a deep breath, turning away from Dirk, his mind clearing and becoming embarrassed by his outbreak. Something rational in Jake's mind prompted him that it was justified, but he still couldn't stand looking at the wet spot that was visible on Dirk’s coat.

He spent the rest of their walking distance trying to keep his mind away from undesirable thoughts, daydreaming about what alternate universes could exist, like a universe where Bec wasn't with them, or a universe where their grandparents were still alive. The only thing that distracted them was a bunch of pterodactyl-like creatures swirling in the sky looking for pray – neither Jake nor Dirk had the means of fighting them, so they had to take cover again and wait till they passed.

Jake was sure his guns won't work against them; they probably didn't need them at all in this world.

***

Jade entered The Exiles bar and, as usual, cringed at the smell of cigarette smoke. She manoeuvred carefully to avoid bumping into dangerous-looking men and women filling the place and speaking in hushed tones, and went straight up to the bar counter where two men in black suits sat, sipping whiskey lazily.

After her initial panic and being unable to reach Rose, Jade remembered that there was one more option of asking for help, and left Bec at home to guard the prisoner.

She couldn't ask the Midnight Crew to do anything magical, of course, she wouldn't even reveal the true reason she had to come to them, but if the rumours about them being the most skilful criminals with a vast network of henchmen all around the world were true, they could find Rose in no time.

“Mr. Slick, hello again,” Jade said.

“Miss Harley,” Spades Slick tipped his hat politely.

“Are you leaving again? It's only being three hours since your arrival,” the other member of the Midnight Crew gang, named Hearts Boxcars, said. He was huge, with shoulders so broad Jade was sure ten people could settle on them. “You do realize you make us live in that house more frequently than you do?”

“It will stop soon, I hope,” Jade said. “But right now I need a job done. I'm searching for a person, her name is Rose Lalonde, twenty-five years old, blonde hair, purple eyes, lives in Avis, was last seen in Sandford.”

Spades Slick nodded solemnly. “It won't be for free, of course.”

Jade couldn't resist snickering. “What do you want in return, my soul?”

Slick's eyebrow shot up. “Excuse me?”

“Sorry, I've been around… certain people for too long. I’ll write you a check. I can count on you, right?”

“Of course,” Slick said, although his eye was still narrowed in suspicion. “Give us two days, and she will be sitting on your porch.”

Jade thanked him and turned to leave, but managed to catch Boxcars asking, “Why do you keep helping them, we’ve already got everything we need from SkaiaNet,” and Slick jabbing the cane in his foot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is only one thing I love more than time-travelling: time-travelling into apocalyptic futures.  
> Perhaps you've been expecting this twist for a while, because it's like an obligatory plot for one of the TV show episodes... If not, I hope I could surprise you in a good way.
> 
> Fun fact - when i was writing this chapter I hit the lowest point of my life. I guess it kinda helped me set the necessary dark mood.
> 
> Now let's play a game called "Guess what characters from our generation are going to be alive".  
> \+ don't forget about waoheas tag on tumblr - you can add something to it, I'd be happy to see your art or posts


	11. A Dying Man's Wish, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the future still sucks and is full of assholes.

When Jake and Dirk arrived at a place marked with a red cross on their map, they saw the ruins of another building, with only the hatch remaining untouched, although it was covered with soil so thoroughly a random onlooker wouldn’t be able to notice it. The rusty metal creaked when they opened it as per Horuss’s instructions – it was thick and heavy, and it took the strength of both Dirk and Jake, as well as some magic to even make it budge – and climbed down using ledges. As Horuss explained, they climbed down the hatch into the pitch black smelly basement and approached a bare brick wall with gross drips of something slimy.

Jake tried not to breathe unless necessary; he felt like every breath he took made his lungs cover in suffocating mould.

Jake counted the bricks carefully, cut a finger and wiped a droplet of blood on the seventh brick from the bottom, as Horuss instructed, and said, voice echoing in the emptiness,” Jake English and Dirk Strider would like to see Tentacle Therapist... Please?”

After a moment of nothing but silence and soft ticking of water the wall shook and slid into two parts, letting them into a narrow corridor. The door slammed shut as soon as they stepped in, and the darkness swallowed them.

“If Horuss and Meulin were double agents working for the spirits it would be a perfect trap,” Dirk said.

“Just as perfect as your timing of saying this,” Jake said, flinching and lighting up a flare.

The corridor was clean and the air got warmer with every step they took, and after walking for what seemed like eternity, finally there was a dead end with a clean steel ladder. The ladder led to another hatch, which finally let them to the surface, where blessing cool air filled them up like life water.

The place they’ve arrived too looked like an empty warehouse – the first undamaged building they’ve seen in this world. Through the large windows they could see the pearly sky that changed its colours subtly. From blue to pink to yellow, they moved in swirls, transforming into one another; Jake thought it must be influenced by some kind of magic.

However, before they could spot anything else, bells chimed out of nowhere, and a melodic, polite voice said, “Intruder alert.”

The door leading further inside the building flew open and a dark figure ran out, holding what looked like a concentrated firework in a tiny sphere in their raised hand. The person was wearing a long black cloak that trailed after them in a dramatic manner and a purple striped scarf draped over it; the face was concealed by the hood completely. But Dirk and Jake didn’t get the chance to look them over, because the firework twisted and formed two sparkling daggers that dashed towards them, stopping within mere millimetres from their throats.

“Please state your intent,” the person said, voice tense but calm enough not to be a shout.

“We would like to visit Rose Lalonde, I mean Tentacle Therapist,” Jake said quickly, raising his hands just in case. He tried to step back, but the dagger followed.

“Code word: Rose, accepted,” the melodic voice said.

“Hush, you,” the person waved their hand and the voice stopped. Their tone softened after hearing Rose’s name, but they still looked Jake and Dirk over with great suspicion, “Who you might be?”

“Jake English and Dirk Strider,” Jake said. “We came from sixty years in the past.”

The person snapped their fingers and the daggers disappeared; they dropped the hood, revealing a young man’s face with a shocked expression, and wiry yellow curls.

“If you don’t mind a test…” Without waiting for a reply he came up to them, whispered incantations that formed two small spinning galaxies in his open palms; he pressed them to Jake’s and Dirk’s chests. Jake felt warmth blooming where he was touched, like someone was blowing on his skin gently, and the man gasped.

“Oh my god. I can’t believe it, it really is you, just like it was foretold!” He looked at them with shining brown eyes.

“Foretold by whom?” Dirk asked warily, rubbing his chest.

“By Mrs. Lalonde, of course! She predicted Dace Hagler will return once more. Of course, most people thought she was just delusional, but I’ve always believed her. My name is Viceroy Bubbles von Salamancer, by the way, nice to meet you!”

He shook their hands eagerly.

“Is this your real name, or is it another alias?” Jake asked in surprise.

“Of course it’s real!”

Dirk smirked. “Your parents called you Bubbles?”

“No, this is the name I gave myself. But it doesn’t make it less real. In any case, I prefer to be called just Viceroy, or Vice, for short,” he smiled and beckoned Dirk and Jake to follow him through the exit of the warehouse that led inside a house.

To their surprise, the interior of the house was very cosy and had a lot of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling, and shelves stocked with jars and impossible amounts of books. Its pleasant herbal scent reminded of Rose’s house.

There were a lot of skulls and bones everywhere, animal and human mixed together. Jake could only hope they were props for extra creepiness.

“There are so many questions I want to ask you, Mr. English, Mr. Strider,” Viceroy said. “But I think it would be polite to ask about the reason you wanted to see me first.”

“Actually, like Jake said, we wanted to see Tentacle Therapist,” Dirk corrected him.

“Well, that’s what I said–“ Viceroy smacked his forehead. “Oh, of course, you are from the past, there’s so much you don’t know yet! I bear the title of Tentacle Therapist now.”

“What happened to Rose?” Jake asked instantly, and Viceroy saddened.

“She is… retired. But let us not talk about this just yet. Tell me, what brings you here?”

Dirk and Jake retold the whole story, starting with searching for the Time vessel (“Yes, I know this part,” Viceroy said) and finishing with meeting Horuss and Meulin.

Viceroy gave the story his utmost attention, but when they finished, he shook his head sadly.

“Sorry, I can’t give you advice on how to return to your time at the moment, I need to do some research first. But don’t worry, we have the biggest depository of knowledge here,” he smiled. “And while you wait, you can live with TTT, that’s Tentacle Therapist Team, a group of people in charge of protecting this area.”

“How long is the waiting going to be?” Jake asked.

“A few months maybe? Or a year?” Viceroy shrugged carelessly. “Frankly, I don’t know at the moment.”

“ _YEAR_?!” Jake exclaimed. “We can’t wait this long! We need to go back, Jade and Bec are still there!”

“And Meulin said the war is going to break out in three weeks,” Dirk added, and Viceroy pretended to examine the closest human skull to avoid his sharp stare, muttering an apology.

Jake inhaled deeply and finally asked the most important question.

“What happened to Jade here?”

He knew the answer the moment Viceroy’s expression became apologetic.

“I’m terribly, terribly sorry, I know how much she meant to you...”

He still hasn’t looked away from the skull; and Jake both dreaded the confirmation and wanted it to happen faster, like an infected limb being cut off.

“...she’s dead,” Viceroy sighed. “She was killed by Space when the portal was opened, and your dog, Becquerel, died trying to save her.”

Jake inhaled sharply. He thought he was ready – but as it turns out you’re never ready for someone announcing your sister’s death. It was the worst possible fate for Jade, to not get a chance to fight for humanity’s liberation. Just the role of the first victim.

He tried to comfort himself by thinking that at least it wasn’t _their_ future. And he would do anything to keep Jade safe once they got back in their time.

“How was the portal opened?” Dirk asked after shooting Jake a quick sympathetic glance.

“Well, it all started when your found Time and released it into Miss Megido’s body accidentally. However, in this universe the spirit didn’t tamper with time, and you exorcised it rather quickly, but the balance was finally tipped in favour of magic. It filled the world, it became possible to use it almost freely, with many restrictions, but still; the underlings became a big nuisance too. Around that time Mrs. Lalonde learned a ritual that would allow her to create a portal leading into the spirit realm. For reasons I don’t quite know you decided to stop searching for the rest of the vessels and just destroy the ones you had at that moment, thinking that the remaining vessels wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble if they will stay on their own.

“They, I mean you, used Mr. Egbert’s island to crack time and space, but you used only seven vessels instead of twelve, and the rift became unstable. It broke loose, sending a shock-wave through the entire world and releasing the spirits from their cages; and they gathered around the rift under command of the most fearsome entity there is: Space. Before anyone could realize what was going on, magic flooded this realm, the spirits summoned their minions through the portal, and this is how the war began.

“The spirits had the upper hand from the very first moment, it was impossible to defeat or even weaken them, but the you didn’t give up. Mr. English, Mr. Strider, and Mrs. Lalonde were the three leaders who gathered a group of people who could help with fighting the spirits and saving the others. You formed headquarters for freedom fighters all throughout the continent, trying to cover as many areas as possible. Of course, this is where your invention, Dace Hagler, came in handy. Only a few knew that he was several people at once, you were able to confuse the spirits greatly,” Viceroy sounded incredibly pleased.

“Wait a second,” Dirk said, while Jake found himself so hooked up on the story the sadness about Jade’s untimely death became dulled a little – now it was just a nail driven into his heart, not the chainsaw it initially was. “Does it mean we weren’t together? I mean, as a team?”

“You were inseparable in the beginning. But after a few years it became clear that you can achieve more if you worked in different areas. Of course, you were reluctant at first, which was understandable – nobody wanted to be apart from their friends or family. If you went on individual missions, they were never long, and years later you even recruited more people to bear the name of Dace Hagler. The first of those people included Mr. Strider’s brothers, by the way,” Viceroy nodded at Dirk. “You see, during the last twenty years of your life you became paranoid, and again, I completely understand, with the amount of torture inflicted on you by the spirits it was a natural thing to do. One can even say, you lost your head… You went further than anyone with protecting your identity, going beyond Dace Hagler and making your brothers take your name. By that time Mr. Dave Strider has grown up enough to be confused with his older brothers, and with your quite remarkable appearance everyone was easily fooled,” Viceroy hummed, deep in thought. “I’m not sure, but I think no one besides Mrs. Lalonde and Mr. English knew about this substitution.”

Dirk was sitting with a completely straight face, which made it obvious that it affected him more than anything else he’s heard today.

“What happened to Dave and Dane?” He asked.

“They are dead, I’m so sorry. Mr. Dane Strider was killed when he was thirty-five, and Mr. Dave Strider when he was thirty-seven,” Viceroy said, tone regretful, yet businesslike, as if he was simply reading an obituary.

Jake failed to imagine what it could be like to live and die pretending to be another person. It was surreal to hear the names and ages of dead people; it seemed so far away, but at the same time, it’s already happened.

But what Viceroy said next made everything worse.

“As for Mr. Strider and Mr. English, in order to build a proper resistance, you had to operate from different points, and thus, you could see each other only when your missions coincided. Mrs. Lalonde was in contact with both of you; she said you never were quite the same after Mr. Strider decided to go to east coast and work with Mr. Egbert, and Mr. English dedicated himself to avenging Miss Harley’s death and destroying Space.”

“Did I... succeed?” Jake asked, knowing what the answer would be.

Viceroy laughed. “Of course not, it’s impossible for a human to kill a spirit! And when I say it, I don’t mean _‘very difficult.’_ I mean it is literally impossible. But you’ve come closer to doing it than anyone else. Became the undesirable number one for the spirits,” he giggled, as if remembering an inside joke. “You’ve avoided death so many times, the people thought you were immortal and indestructible... Until you went out of commission. But before that, you were everyone’s hope, sun, and stars, Mr. English – and you still are, for a lot of people. Everyone remembers what you were like; when we thought the only thing that awaits us was death and torture, you became a beacon, showing us that we can make the future liveable.”

Jake tried to wrap his head around this; but it must be someone else, not him, there was no way he could be this fearless hero.

“What about me, how did I die?” Dirk asked.

“Um,” Viceroy looked around nervously. “Well... You were forty-five, which is a huge achievement on its own, almost a miracle. Mrs. Lalonde has always said she was surprised you lasted so long; you were a paradox man, knowing so much, yet being a complete zero in magic... Anyway, you went up to Space, all alone, you probably thought you could fulfil Mr. English’s dreams for him. But you were the spirits’ second worst enemy, and...” He shivered. “From what I heard, it was pretty gruesome.”

He fell silent, obviously not wanting to go into details, and then suddenly lit up, as if remembering something uplifting.

“Oh! But you can see your grave, it’s really close!”

His excited look was met with Dirk’s blank stare.

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because it will be fun?” Viceroy suggested, as if was the most obvious answer. “How many people can see their graves? I’ve been in Nocteville, you have a very nice spot right next to Miss Harley; Mr. English insisted you should be buried with the Harleys... Well, when I say _‘buried_ , _’_ “ he twitched his fingers to show air quotes, “it’s a figure of speech, because your body was never recovered, but still...”

Jake exchanged fleeting glances with Dirk, not sure how to react, and said, “Maybe next time.”

“Suit yourselves,” Viceroy stood up. “Alright then, I could tell you more about your deeds and the events of the past, but I think you’d better listen to different points of view. It’s time I introduce you to the TTT members... Just wait here a second, please, I need to warn them. Remember that your situation is unprecedented, so some side-eyeing can be expected... Although I’m pretty sure they are going to be ecstatic!”

With this, he left the room, leaving Dirk and Jake looking around in heavy silence.

“What do you think?” Dirk asked.

Jake hesitated with an answer, gaze sliding around the names of the books on the shelf and stumbling across another human skull, watching him with hollow eye sockets and jaws crooked into something resembling a smile; he looked away quickly, reminded of a corpse they saw earlier. Why did he find skulls so cool before?...

And what could one even say to a question like this that wouldn’t simply be a retelling of the reasons they needed to leave this place as soon as possible?

One thing for sure, he was so loaded with new information, it didn’t leave much space for misery.

But the nail was still there.

“Viceroy is a nice man,” he said finally. “A good successor for Rose.”

“Yes,” Dirk replied. “Seems too fascinated with death though. Although it must’ve become an everyday thing for them.”

Jake’s eyes lingered on a massive black volume with a title ‘Necromancy’. He would never understand how death can become a common thing.

He reached out to take the book, but as soon as his fingertips grazed it, a skeleton of a lizard on the shelf snapped its teeth in a menacing way, and he jerked the hand away.

“You seem to be the symbol of liberation though,” Dirk continued, leaning against the table, eyes sweeping over obscure magical tools scattered on its surface. “Good for you.”

“Yeah.”

He just hoped they could get back before acting up to his title becomes necessary.

When Viceroy came back, he said, with an air of contrived nonchalance, “I told the team about your situation, they will be happy to give you temporary shelter. Just remember that the way they perceive you is influenced by things you haven’t done yet. Don’t be offended if their reactions will seem strange and don’t let it bother you.”

Jake wondered if it translated into not letting fame get into his head. If so, he had no problem with that.

“What is this place anyway?” Dirk asked when they entered the street.

Jake has never thought he’d see something like this in this world: neat buildings painted in bright colours, green trees and blossoming flowers, even a working fountain with lily pods and a single frog croaking loudly.

“The safest place on Earth,” Viceroy said, and pointed at the skies shimmering with rainbow colours like a soap bubble. “The cupola gives as much protection as possible; a lot of people live in this town, and we always accept new refugees.”

The walk was short, and soon they entered a large building that looked like another huge warehouse and saw a group of people gathered on the couch and around it, staring at them with expressions ranging from disbelief to ecstasy. There was an abandoned card game and teacups on the table nearby, and assorted items were scattered around, including a guitar, a flute, sketchbooks, buckets of paint, balls of yarn, and several crystal balls.

The most noticeable thing was how much better dressed and healthier looking everyone was compared to Horuss and Meulin.

“Allow me to introduce Mr. Jake English and Mr. Dirk Strider,” Viceroy said. “And these are...”

“Oh please, let me do the introductions in not so boring way. You are just like Kankri when it comes to exposition,” the man leaped from the couch. His hair was bright purple, styled in an obscure way.

He approached them in a few wide steps, a huge grin shining on his face; Jake noticed that he was the only one with torn clothes – although he must’ve thought it was fashionable. Judging by the amount of people dying their hair fashion must’ve still existed here.

“I am Cronus, the head of popular cultural and recreational activities department,” he shook their hands.

“A department you invented a second ago, big deal,” the girl with two long thin braids rolled her eyes.

“This is Meenah, her job is to make sarcastic commentary and be the daughter of the regiment.”

She flipped him off. “Stop calling me that, I’m already thirteen, you ass.”

“This is Kankri, our boss, self-taught philosopher,” Cronus pointed at the man in bright red sweater, with hair and eyes of the same dark brown colour, who raised his hand in greeting and opened his mouth, but Cronus interrupted, “don’t ask him anything, or he won’t shut up for an hour.”

“That’s Damara, our spirit expert and a master of apocalyptic predictions – as if we don’t have enough,” the woman with deeply set eyes, that made her look threatening, nodded.

“Rufioh, same field, better attitude,” the man with red streaks in brown hair waved happily.

“Kurloz, some say he can communicate with the spirits via telepathy and predict their moves, kinda makes him even creepier than he looks,” another man, tall and thin, made some gestures with his hands that Jake recognised as sign language.

“And finally, Mituna... I’m out of humorous descriptions, frankly, I don’t know what his deal is,” a boy, whose eyes were concealed by tangled black hair, smiled widely.

“That was horrible, Cronus, usually you are at least somewhat creative. Hello, past parallel Dace Hagler!” He said in a high-pitched voice.

 “Insults aren’t funny, Mituna,” Kankri exclaimed, slightly alarmed. “Could everyone here please stop treating them like top-notch humour, you have no idea how much harm you can secretly be inflicting on each other, haven’t I told you about the patient I had the other day and the direct correlation she had with her physical state and the tone her teammates talked to her in?...”

“Are you sure she wasn’t just cursed to make everyone hate her?” Cronus laughed, and Rufioh patted Kankri’s shoulder.

“You told the story yesterday,” he said calmly. “We should focus on our guests right now.”

Viceroy cleared his throat. “If you could help them settle down for the time being and work out a way to get back in the past, that would be very helpful. Miss Megido, will you help with researching time?”

“Whatever,” Damara drawled, watching the ceiling.

“Wait, your surname is Megido? Aradia Megido’s... daughter?” Jake guessed. He wasn’t about to judge a person only by their name, but saying it made him feel uneasy.

Damara narrowed her eyes but didn’t look at Jake. “Do I look fucking sixty? I’m her distant relative, don’t know which one, don’t care.”

“Are you sure they came from a parallel universe?” Meenah asked, narrowing her eyes at Viceroy.

“Definitely, yes,” he answered. “Why?”

“Otherwise I would’ve suggested we kill him,” she stuck a finger at Dirk.

“What?!” Jake shrieked and threw an arm in front of Dirk automatically, and Kankri smacked Meenah’s head at the same time, exclaiming, “Don’t say things like that! _Love thy neighbour,_ remember?”

“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same for a chance to prevent the Halitus outbreak!” She protested.

“Please, I thought we’ve agreed not to accuse people of things they _haven’t done yet,_ ” Viceroy raised his hands in a peaceful manner.

“You can shove your orders up your magical ass!” Meenah shouted. “My family was in Halitus!”

“If by ‘family’ you mean your grandmother whom you barely knew...” Damara drawled, inspecting her nails.

Kurloz sighed something quickly, and Rufioh replied, “Still, it’s not justified!”

“Please, let’s stop arguing,” Viceroy said calmly. “And also, let’s not confuse people with your biased opinions about what they will become. Let’s just all calm down and forget about it for the time being–”

“If _I_ get a saying in this,” Dirk said suddenly, and all the gazes snapped on him, “I say you tell me what happened right now.”

Kurloz signed something, and Kankri explained, “He says, your robots happened.”

Viceroy looked at him with a pained expression. “You might have killed some people, but that’s what war is about, I just don’t want you to lose hope in your future–”

“ _Some_ people? SOME?!” Meenah yelled. “The whole fucking east coast was wiped out! That’s thirty thousand people!”

“Leave him alone!” Jake snapped. Even without completely understanding the situation his primary instinct was to shield Dirk. The future was bad enough on its own, it didn’t need pointless accusations to get them down.

The arguing people stared at him, falling silent instantly. Apparently, Jake – or rather Jake’s older self – used to hold a lot of authority here, and he’ll be damned if he wasn’t going to use it.

“Our Jake English wouldn’t have protected him,” Meenah muttered.

“You got the wrong guy then,” he glared at her. “And since he is not around, you will have to listen to me.”

“He is around though,” Damara said in the same disinterested tone. She didn’t even lift her gaze when the argument started.

Jake’s mouth hang open, and he looked at Viceroy; he shrugged apologetically.

“Yes, sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I thought it would be too much information to dump at once. Jake English from this timeline is alive, he resides here, you can talk to him if you want to.”

And here Jake thought he’s already seen every single weird thing in this future; but the ability to talk to his older self was stranger (and, frankly, a lot more terrifying) than going through a portal.

“That’s a good idea,” he said and took Dirk’s hand firmly. “Let’s go talk to someone sensible.”

“I much rather stay and hear what they have to say about me,” he said stubbornly, but Jake just shook his head and pulled harder.

There was no universe, parallel or not, in which he would allow Dirk to be left alone with people who wanted to tear him apart.

“Viceroy, lead the way,” he said and looked at the rest of the people: most of them were looking down like ashamed children scolded by their teacher, except for Damara, who seemed incapable of being bothered by anything, and Meenah, features still twisted in a scowl. “And as for you, I expect you to think about your behaviour and why accusing a man who’s never done anything wrong is bad.”

“Allow me to disagree with that,” Dirk muttered, and Jake kicked his foot discreetly, thinking he would be the worst person to have an advocate for.

Still glaring at the team, making sure they all understood him, Jake noticed out of the corner of his eye that Dirk was looking at him with wonder and sort of respect, probably surprised by his change of behaviour.

But Jake didn’t even want to care about the changes, so he gripped Dirk’s hand tighter and dragged him out in the street, followed by Viceroy, looking slightly confused.

However, the confusion was fleeting, and soon Viceroy was explaining that originally this area was built for a hospital, and later a commune has grown around it, consisting mostly of doctors. The hospital was the main attraction to this day, the best in the whole world.

“Kankri is not only the leader of the commune, but a doctor too,” Viceroy said, taking the cloak off before entering the hospital, revealing a purple velvet jacket and pants. “In fact, his grandfather was the one to found the hospital during the first year of the war and study the ways of incorporating magic with traditional methods of healing. Cronus is an expert on these methods too, even though he likes to pretend to be a stupid clown. But please don’t judge him – actually, I would like to ask you not to judge anybody here, all of these people have different coping mechanisms. Meenah’s is the simplest manifestation, anger: she may be upset about her grandmother dying, but mostly she feels for the rest of the simple people. Please, understand her: understanding and forgiveness is what our commune is founded on. They will forgive you too, eventually,” he send Dirk a supportive smile, but Dirk didn’t react.

The hospital was indeed the largest building, that people somehow managed to keep pearly white, and the insides were matching. The staff greeted Viceroy kindly and glanced at Dirk and Jake with curiosity.

When Viceroy told the nurse the name of the patient they wanted to visit, Jake felt as if he was shoved in a spotlight with the amount of piercing looks directed at him. Then a nurse came up and frisked all three of them, muttering endless apologies and explaining that she had to make sure they didn’t have any sharp objects.

After they left their weapons with the nurse, Viceroy led them to the end of the corridor where a closed door was.

“Won’t this create a paradox?” Jake asked. “Me meeting myself?”

“There’s no such thing as time paradoxes,” Viceroy said. “Not for humans, at least. Time is a constant flow of change, that’s what my mentor always said, every change you make in the past simply results in an alternate timeline. Anyway, here we are, Mr. English has a private ward, since he is such an important figure. However, you must be prepared, he is severely ill,” Viceroys scratched his nose. “It could put you off, I don’t know, I’ve never met my older self… Anyway, give me a couple of minutes to warn him too.”

He disappeared behind the door, closing it gently.

Jake wanted to tell Dirk something about not letting other people’s opinions get into his head, that none of it mattered, but Dirk beat him to it.

“You ready?” He asked quietly, nodding at the closed door, and Jake shook his head.

As much as he liked believing in impossible, meeting his older self still sounded like an elaborate hoax.

“No. It’s like… an evaluation of my life, you know? Like the results of a final test, to check and see what I grew up to become. And talking to him, to me… I don’t know. I must be eighty now. It’s so strange.”

“Judging by how the others praise you, I’d say you’ve got nothing to fear. Besides, who’s better to understand you than yourself?”

Jake sighed. If only it was true.

“You may come in, he’s waiting,” Viceroy opened the door and made an inviting gesture.

“What about you?”

“Oh, your conversation is probably going to be very private, I will be in the way there. I will see you back at the base.”

With that, he pushed them gently through the open door, and went away.

The room was small and light, with grey walls and a big window that cast dim light on a man reclining on a bed, propped by large pillows. He was strapped to several droppers and had a crystal ball filled with gleaming bubbles standing on his bedstand.

Jake drew closer, examining his older self’s face eagerly, noting every feature he was used to seeing in the mirror, changed but still recognizable. His face was wrinkled, like a crumpled piece of paper, and pigmented with dark spots and countless pale scars. The lenses in his glasses were so thick the dark green eyes seemed small and lost – but his gaze wasn’t directed at Jake, he was staring at Dirk.

Dirk pocketed his shades and said, “Good evening, Mr. English? Jake?”

“Jake is fine,” he croaked and coughed.

His eyes moved to Jake, studying him, then to Dirk again, and then he just stared at his hand lying on the blanket, his brows cringed in a strange expression, too complicated to decipher.

“How are you feeling?” Jake asked with concern. “Viceroy said you are ill, but what happened?”

“You can’t fight the spirits without magic leaving a trace. And I’ve fought too many times to count...”

He trailed off and closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Jake said. Suddenly, he thought of many questions he wanted to ask older Jake, but they were too personal to mention in front of Dirk.

“How much harder it is to fight real spirits?” Dirk asked. “Is there something you can tell us to be prepared?”

Older Jake muttered something like “Figures” under his breath, and let out a dry laugh. He seemed unable to look Dirk in the eye.

“The spirits possessing human vessels were a child’s play,” he said. “I hope you enjoyed it, because the real things are so much worse, impossible to catch, impossible to defeat... The only thing we can do is prolong the complete destruction of humanity, and you see what it left me with,” he lifted his trembling hands and dropped them down. “A barely functioning body that has to be renewed every day to be kept alive and a mind full of images I wouldn’t want anyone to see.”

“But we can prevent it,” Jake said, desperate for something positive. “Now that we know about the future we know everything we shouldn’t do, like opening the portal.”

He looked at Dirk for support, which earned a weird, pitying look from older Jake.

“You may fix your universe, but opening the portal is inevitable. It’s not something you can control, if you don’t open it, it will be breached on its own. Besides, there is no way you can get rid of the vessels without it.”

“What about killing the spirits?” Dirk leaned forward.

“Impossible,” older Jake deadpanned.

“But immortal beings simply can’t exist! They must have some kind of weakness, either in this realm or their native one,” Dirk made a heated gesture. “There has to be something humans can do, you have so many powerful inventions and brilliant minds at your disposal, why can’t you use them, and, for example, create something of equal power–”

“DON’T!” Jake jabbed a finger at him, but dropped back on the pillows, as though it took too much effort. “This world has suffered enough because of your brilliant ideas.”

“What _kind_ of ideas?” Dirk pressed. “Everyone keeps telling me what an asshole I am without sharing the details. Please do, I want to be able to enjoy loathing myself as much as everyone else does.”

Jake regarded him with a heavy gaze and busied himself with cleaning his thick glasses.

“Eight years prior to his death, Dirk Strider from this world, who had the same mindset as you, figured out how to harvest the spirit energy to power up the machinery,” he began in a monotone, devoid of all emotion. “He wanted to create something that would match the spirits in power and will have a chance of defeating them, and thus, he created an artificial being that was meant to have the properties of a spirit, but obey commands of its master. However, the sentience rebelled. Everyone kept telling y-you...”

As soon as the old man glanced at Dirk, he stumbled on the words and dropped his gaze down again. “Everyone kept telling him to stop, kept telling that he knew nothing of magic and wouldn’t be able to control it, but he didn’t listen. He was ever so confident in his methods that have never betrayed him before, and when it went rogue... It wiped out the east coast, including Halitus with John Egbert’s people, which was the second largest and safest commune in the world.”

After a pause, Dirk said, sounding emotionless as ever, “Sorry about that. I know I regretted it.”

“Yeah,” old Jake said, bitter and slightly condescending. “I’m sure you did. Perhaps your desire to face Space one-on-one was a way of seeking redemption… A stupid thing nonetheless. You never learned.”

“That’s just another thing we know now we shouldn’t do, once we get back, right?” Jake cut in, looking from one to another.

“Sure. No rebellious artificial spirits will be created in our time,” Dirk said.

Older Jake sighed and closed his eyes, saying, “Now, about getting back...”

Jake wondered if that’s really how clumsy his attempts in changing the topic sounded.

“There is one device to work with time, but it’s not used for time travelling. It was created by Rose Lalonde in attempts of predicting future. Here, the spirits of Time and Light always work in tandem, one is seeing the future, the other is finding ways to change it. We’ve already had crystal balls and other means of prediction, so Rose decided to create a device to study how time works and how our choices affect the future – that’s how we learned that parallel worlds existed. You should ask Damara about it, if she could use it to pinpoint your timeline of origin. You know the date, so you can use it to trick Time into reversing the spell. Stay away from Light though, this version of Time doesn’t know you are here yet, otherwise it would have killed you already. You should ask Viceroy to up the protection against Light’s future vision, the longer you can hold the element of surprise, the better.”

He had a coughing fit again and sipped medicine of stop it, and Jake thought he didn’t get to talk this much very often.

“What happened to Rose?” Dirk asked. “Viceroy refused to tell us.”

The old man shook his head.

“Viceroy wanted to make your adaptation easier by giving out the bad information in small portions. Rose is alive, but she... she erased her memory. Remember the potion that numbs bad memories? She should’ve already created it in your time. She perfected it, and started taking it after Kanaya’s death,” he sighed, pausing for a moment. “In small doses at first, wanting to forget the day she lost her. But then she just couldn’t stop... She started mixing it with alcohol, which amplified the effect and made her completely forget everything about the spirits or that she ever had a wife. Good thing she managed to choose a new Tentacle Therapist before losing the honour of bearing the name.”

Poor Rose, Jake thought. Something horrible must’ve happened to Kanaya for her to lose it like that.

As if older Jake could read his mind, he continued talking.

“You see, while Rose was on top of her game, Kanaya was taken hostage by Rage and its minions in exchange for information about Rose’s plans, hideouts, weapons – everything she used to keep the people she was in charge of safe. When she heard their demands, she made her choice for the greater good, and chose safety of thousands of people instead of one,” he closed his eyes. “So they killed her. Kanaya. They killed her.”

“Where was I? Why didn’t I do anything?” Jake asked, feeling a strange mix of fury and desperation – no matter what the answer would be it already happened, and he couldn’t help it no matter how much he wanted to.

The older Jake threw him an angry glance. “Do you think I wouldn’t rescue her if I could? I tried, there was nothing we could do, it was too risky for the commune. After all... Sacrifices have to be made. You can’t have everything at once, so you have to choose what to lose. If it wasn’t for sacrifices, we wouldn’t have this commune,” he moved his hand weakly.

Jake frowned slightly, wondering if those were the words he said to Rose after her world came crumbling down.

“What about me?” Dirk asked.

“You were busy being dead,” the other Jake cut him off.

Jake scowled at this and touched Dirk’s hand briefly, without looking at him.

“And why exactly did you not prevent her drinking? You should’ve been a supportive friend and help her get through this! That’s what I would do, she is my friend – she is _your_ friend!” He addressed his other self.

“Don’t tell me what I had to do, you weren’t there. Besides, she was a therapist, she should’ve been able to help herself. Now if you excuse me,” older Jake said, “I would like to talk to myself privately.”

“If it’s anything about the future, you have to talk to either both of us or neither of us,” Jake said, despite wanting to ask himself many personal questions. He’s had enough people try to exclude Dirk out of everything, and he didn’t want himself to become another one.

“I don’t remember being this rude when I was young,” older Jake regarded him heavily.

“It’s alright Jake,” Dirk said calmly and stood up. “I’ll go talk to Damara in the meantime.”

“But–”

“It’s _fine_ ,” he touched Jake’s shoulder briefly.

As soon as the door closed behind Dirk, Jake leaned towards his older self and hissed, “Why do you talk to him like this? There are enough people hating him in this terrible future! I don’t want him to think I don’t care!”

Older Jake stared at the ceiling, terribly tired, and said, “I don’t.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jake put as much sarcasm in his voice as he could. “You are me, and thus, I know you love him.”

“Yes, I remember feeling this way… And I remember how much it hurt.”

Jake wanted to snap back, but curiosity for another question overweighed.

“What happened between him and me? Him and you?” He asked quietly.

The other Jake was silent for such a long time Jake thought he wasn’t going to hear an answer, until finally he spoke faintly.

“We fell apart, easy as that. As soon as we decided to split up to cover more ground, this was the end of it. Every time we survived another massacre, we came back different, and every time we met he seemed more and more distant… And then Halitus happened, and I didn’t want to talk to him, because I didn’t know what to say to him,” he laughed humourlessly. “Dirk died before we could make amends. Kind of relieving me of having to figure out what to say to make everything better. Which, of course, would be impossible. Besides, I didn’t see why I should be the one to make the first step.”

“Maybe you still can. They said they never found the body, maybe he’s not dead,” Jake said, feeling strangely detached from the man lying in front of him. He knew it was his future, but at the same time – it wasn’t.

“That’s what I’ve been telling myself for twenty years. But hope hurts so I stopped. But it’s all good, old generations should die to make way for new ones,” he chuckled again, and it was scarily hollow. “But we do try to shape our successors into what we want. Nobody lives past age fifty here, but they still keep me alive for hell knows what… Oh, who am I kidding, I know their reasons. They want me as their symbol of hope, even though I lost all hope long time ago. But maybe now that you are here they will finally allow me to rest, once and for all. Stop suffering through this half-life.”

He sank deeper into the pillow, wincing as though being in great pain.

The bubbles in the sphere lit with dark purple, and he threw it an angry glance.

“Don’t say things like this!” Jake gasped. “I know you must hate this future, because I’ve been here for mere hours, and I’m already hating it and the callous people surrounding us–”

“They are not callous,” the other him interrupted. “I can’t believe I used to judge people by the surface. It’s just their protection, when you see death all around it kind of loses its meaning.”

“But not for us.”

Older Jake looked at him for a long time. “No, not for us.”

“Did I, uh, ever tell him something?” Jake asked nervously.

“No. Right now you are too much of a coward, and after the war began, and we just didn’t have time,” he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Every time one of us was close to death I wanted to tell him, but... I suppose I was too afraid of both outcomes. Because after what happened to Jade and Bec I thought I didn’t deserve happiness. Not that any kind of happiness was possible in the first place... But I couldn’t lose the last string that held the remains of old Dace Hagler together. And then... Well, he died. And there was nothing left to say.”

Jake didn’t know what to say, the future has just became ten times worse. Was his inability to tell Dirk the truth really cowardice?

“I can fix this,” he said finally. “I can make it right in my timeline, I will confess to him and I will take any answer.”

The older man shook his head immediately. “No, for your own sake, you’d better stay away from him.”

“What, why?! Wasn’t the whole point of your monologue to show that you still love him?”

“I don’t,” he crossed his arms, looking nowhere but the sphere that returned to its normal colour.

Jake wanted to protest in indignation, he wondered if he really was so stubborn now or if he would become like this when he got older.

But instead he decided to ask a question that he was sure would put him on the spot.

“Tell me this then: in your long, eventful life, full of new people, was there ever anyone else?”

“Maybe not,” Jake admitted reluctantly. “There was Jane, of course, but only because... Because Roxy was dead – don’t look at me like that! Most things we did were out of desperation – oh, you wouldn’t understand, you are too young and naive, you believe that ultimate goodness and peace will prevail.”

He waved a tired hand at Jake.

After all the announcements about deaths Jake should’ve expected Jane and Roxy to be dead, but it still came as a blow. And surely nothing sounded more fake than Jane and him getting together.

The other Jake muttered something like “you don’t understand anything” and “you’ve never understood Strider”.

“But I love him,” Jake said helplessly. “And you still do too!”

“Yes, love,” Jake answered bitterly. “That was my downfall – and it will be yours. You are so willing to be blind to Strider’s flaws, even though you see all the signs, all the little things that you think are cute personality quirks.”

“What happened on Halitus here was terrible, but unintentional! He’s already said he’d never kill anybody! Can’t you remember how torn he was about merely cutting Vriska’s hand?”

“Dirk Strider says a lot of things, he paints the whole world for you to live in – and sometimes they are magnificent things you want to believe forever. Thankfully, I’ve grown out of believing him.”

Jake barely resisted rolling his eyes. His older self seemed so hard to convince.

“Hey, Jake?”

Both men flinched and turned their heads to see Dirk sticking his head it the door frame.

“No, my Jake… I mean young Jake.”

Jake couldn’t help but smile at this, and waved at him. “Listening.”

“Damara and Rufioh are offering me to join them on daily patrol, do you want to come?”

Jake threw a quick glance at the other Jake, who seemed to be unable to decide where to look. “Ah, actually I’m in the middle of an astonishingly important conversation, I’d rather join you later. It’s safe out there, right?”

Dirk shrugged. “Sure, it’s a routine thing. Besides, they gave me these spirit guns,” he snatched two giant guns, black and slick, from behind his back. “A lame name, but they said these can cut through the spiritual matter like a knife through butter that was left out on the sun after a billion years when the sun expanded so much it swallowed Mercury and Venus. Also, we won’t take long, so you better go straight to the garage afterwards. Mituna promised to show the technical stuff they couldn’t get to work.”

“Just take care, alright?” Jake said, still concerned.

Dirk saluted before holstering the guns on his back and turning smoothly.

“This patrol balderdash is safe, right?” Jake asked his older self after Dirk left.

“Of course. Just a regular act of defence, they go around the boarders and destroy all the spiritual matter they can find. Damara and Rufioh are professionals, and Strider learns fast; they will be fine.”

Jake nodded, relieved slightly.

“So, if neither Dirk nor Jade were around... Who were your friends? Rose?”

“Rose had her own thing going on, and she tried to stay close to Kanaya. I preferred to work alone, it was safer this way, but I met up with Jane and Roxy sometimes, and worked in a team with Aradia, Eridan, and Sollux for a while.”

Jake’s mouth fell open, and he practically shrieked, “What?!”

He stared to have doubts about being the same person as this man.

“Yes, I know how you feel about them,” his older counterpart said, exasperated. “But after they’ve realized the errors of their ways, they became valuable assets and good teammates. Later, Aradia even became a part of Dace Hagler.”

Jake opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, boiling with indignation.

“ _She_ is the reason he were thrown into the future!! It was all because she lied about wanting to talk and then attacked us with her sprays and potions!”

The old man chuckled. “Oh yes, she’s always been good at those, almost as good as Jade...”

“Oh, so now you are substituting Jade with her!”

“Nobody can ever substitute _Jade_ , and you know it,” older Jake said, anger seeping through every syllable.

“I don’t know, you seem pretty keen on throwing your friends away in favour of being in cahoots with traitors,” Jake snarled. “What about Ampora, was he a part of Dace Hagler too?”

Jake hated the look of fond reminiscence on the older man’s face.

“Eridan redeemed himself by creating his own group alias to fight the spirits. He proclaimed himself to be the Destroyer of Hope, tried to fight Hope multiple times and survived only because Sollux was there to drag him out… After he was gone there was no one, but I think he welcomed death at the point... Not that I can blame him.”

“Wow, this is so frigging sad,” Jake snapped.

Immediately, he felt kind of ashamed, because the other him said, “Loss of any life should be grieved.”

“I – I know,” he said awkwardly.

“How is Jade?” The other Jake asked after a while.

“She’s great, wants to go to Sandford and teach them how to make potions… But you already know this.”

“Yes, but… I’ve never thought she would die earlier than me. I didn’t even stop to memorize a single detail of our last moments together so that I can relish it later, because I didn’t think they would be our last… What was the last thing she did? A funny thing, mundane thing?”

“Well, remember when we were coming back from the Felt, and Jade put on her fancy blue dress and forced me and Dirk to have a civilized tea party with her? And she kept fidgeting in it, and said that even a diving suit was more comfortable to wear?”

The other Jake chuckled. “Yes, I remember it now. Then she said that being fancy never was her thing, didn’t she? And I asked why the hell did she even have that dress.”

“Yes,” Jake smiled. “And she said she was planning to wear it on my wedding day, when I ask her to be my best man.”

The other Jake laughed; his eyes were watery.

Jake knew what he was thinking about.

At least there was something they had in common – they were separated from their sisters. Jake pitied him; those memories were mere days ago for him, but sixty years ago for his other self.

“You have to promise me one thing,” the older man said, and Jake saw tears running down his cheeks. “Please, do whatever it takes, but atone to my mistakes. _Save Jade._ Don’t let her go anywhere near the portal or where the spirits are. Tie her up and lock her in the dirigible if you need to. Don’t let anything happen to her. This is my last wish.”

“Of course. I promise,” Jake said, and for some reason he wanted to cry too.

The other Jake took his glasses off with trembling hands and wiped his eyes.

“It was so much worse than losing Grandma and Grandpa... Being in the battlefield, seeing Jade’s and Bec’s bodies, it’s a pain more fierce than you can imagine, the one that’s born from emptiness, and then... Then trying to carry on, but keeping seeing new names in the lists of the dead, everyone that you know, one by one, until finally realizing that you are, at last, utterly alone, with no chance of fixing anything, ever again... And your sister is gone, gone forever!” He wailed, covering his face. “And now there’s you, reminding me of what I used to have, and S-Strider is so young and unspoiled… I would give anything to get just a glimpse of my past life back.”

Jake leaned forward and placed a hand on the old man’s one.

“I promise to do anything within my power to prevent this from happening,” he said.

“Even if it means cutting ties with Strider?”

Jake jerked his hand away. “What’s wrong with you?! Stop it! Stop trying to convince me we shouldn’t be together from some sick, unknown reason, because it’s not going to work. Is it jealousy, is this why you do it? Are you jealous because of a possibility of me and him being happy because your own relationship was screwed up?”

The other Jake regarded him with a heavy glare. “I am merely trying to prevent you from making mistakes I made.”

“I am _not_ making a mistake by continuing being his friend. Dirk’s always supported me.”

Jake laughed mercilessly. “Remind me, what this ‘always’ amounts to? Two months you knew each other? Why don’t you want to listen to a person who’s known him for twenty-four years?”

“Because I don’t want to listen to a person who’s admitted to lose all hope.”

“What I’m trying to say is when it comes to choosing whom to save, you should save someone whose mind you can understand,” Jake said with an annoyingly patient tone. “The war is coming to your time too, focus on saving Jade. That was my mistake, I was too focused on saving Dirk and helping Rose, I missed the moment she fell dead.”

He closed his eyes at that, as if he couldn’t bear remembering, but Jake was angry again.

“Basically you are telling me to save someone easy and leave the one who can cause troubles. Just because Dirk and Rose survived that day doesn’t mean they should be blamed for Jade’s death! I can’t believe you and I are the same person. You know what? I’m sick and tired of universe making me choose between Dirk and Jade. We won’t be like this, we won’t fall apart. We are going to return to the past and survive the battle, all four of us! And – it’s your fault Dirk became this estranged person. You should’ve never let him out of your sight, especially after Jade’s death, when he became the closest person you have. Since you are oh-so-insightful and you knew all these things about him, you should have never allowed him to be on his own!”

“Are you blaming me for his mistakes?” Jake hissed.

“I am blaming you for allowing him to make them when you could’ve prevented them by showing him the right way – the same way you could’ve helped Rose, but didn’t, because you’ve already given up on her. Instead you chose the easy way of staying out of trouble, you chose to be a coward about everything.”

Jake despised it, mostly because he recognized he’s always had this tendency, to seek the easy way out instead of facing the problem boldly.

“Believe me, you are not the only one here who is disappointed,” the other Jake said, voice venomous. “I’m not here to listen to advices of my younger, stupider self. I know you think there’s a higher power that guides your life in a best way possible, but let me tell you, there’s nothing but gaping void. The universe doesn’t give a damn about you. I don’t know what you are trying to accomplish by continuing this conversation.”

Jake looked at him for a long time, trying and failing to imagine himself as this man.

“What have you turned into,” he said, not really a question, and saw a tear running down a wrinkly cheek.

He wanted to feel ashamed because of his heated words – but couldn’t.

“I want to die,” the other him said finally, barely audible, and the sphere flashed with purple again. “Do you know how hard it is to always be on top? It means everyone is coming to look for support from you, but when you need support and you look around – all of a sudden you are utterly alone and there’s no one. There hasn’t been anyone for eternity... Please let me die, I don’t want to stay here any longer, I’ve seen so much, I want everything to stop. Please tell them to let me die,” he reached to grab Jake’s hand, but he has already stood up, rubbing his eyes. Everything in the future was so exhausting.

He wanted to feel sorry for the man – but couldn’t help but think that even though those were his genuine emotions, it also was a kind of manipulation to make Jake agree that the other Jake’s point of view was the only truthful one.

Also, because it was himself, Jake felt less obliged to pity him.

But Jake knew it was his own fault. He consciously pushed everyone away, one by one, until there was no one left who could help him. He chose saving the humanity, as if there was no one else in existence who could do it. As if he was the centre of the universe and the responsibility belonged to no one else but him.

That probably was what killed Dirk too.

And all those reasons could be summed up in one word – “separation.”

“No,” he said firmly and, to ensure the other him wouldn’t do something stupid, added, “I will talk to you later, we need to know more about the spirits and how to fight them once we get back home. Thank you for the talk anyway.”

“Yes,” the other him said, closing his eyes and slumping back on the pillows, looking more miserable and disappointed than ever. “You too.”

As Jake was walking to the garage, all in all, while he was definitely sad and still angry, he was also grateful. He wanted to understand what kind of person he would become, and now he was presented with a unique opportunity.

Old Jake’s complete failure and resentment towards Dirk made his blood boil, because it was so _wrong_ , he couldn’t begin to describe the supreme levels of wrongness it was reaching. He thought about proving himself to the other Jake, confessing his feelings no matter what the answer would be, and showing him that everything could be done easy and quick. How shocked and jealous the other him would become once he saw him and Dirk happy together...

That’s what Jake kept repeating as he entered the large garage filled with bright light and various items scattered on the tables and shelves, and as he marched up to Dirk who was examining a huge gun, the words of the confession swam in his mind – but when Dirk’s eyes locked with his, he found himself unable to say a word.

“Dirk… Uh...”

Suddenly he thought what would happen if this would split them up, in this strange future where standing together was of utmost importance, and all he could do was mumble something incoherent.

“What’s wrong?” Dirk asked, and his face darkened. “What did he say to you?”

Jake watched him and thought that the future Jake was right. He really was too much of a coward.

“Nothing,” he sighed. “It’s just that... my future self is such an asshole, pardon my language!”

Dirk breathed out a short laugh. “Welcome to the club.”

“He’s so infuriating,” Jake said, picking a random device from the table. “I will never ever grow up to be like him, that’s for sure. Why do people like him so much?”

The device in his hands beeped and shot a net; Jake dropped it down quickly. Mituna, who was leaning against a wall nearby, chuckled.

“I am sure they like the idea he represents, not his personality,” Dirk said.

Jake huffed. “I wish they would realize it.”

“Personally, I’ve always known that English is a huge dick,” Mituna said with a fit of maniacal laughter. “But it isn’t a popular opinion around here, so you’d better keep quiet. Kurloz knows it too, he just doesn’t tell anyone. Hagler, catch!”

Mituna threw a gun at Jake which he caught automatically.

“Nice reaction! It’s going to be dope with you substituting that gaffer,” Mituna stuck a thumb behind his back. “You can keep the spirit gun instead of your dumb bullet ones. This one shoots anti-matter. The ghouls can’t be killed with regular matter.”

He snapped his fingers, something banged, and a canvas with glowing concentric circles unwrapped from the ceiling.

“You can use it as a target practice, and once you learn to operate the spirit guns you will join us on patrols and sorties, like Strider today,” Mituna said and set an example by shooting a target, hitting it perfectly in the bullseye despite the hair concealing his eyes.

“How was the patrol?”

“Uneventful, according to Rufioh,” Dirk said inspecting his gun. “Shot a bunch of monsters, Damara reinforced the dome over the town, I got to test this gun on some ghouls.”

He shot at the target with a blast of energy, leaving a smoking hole right in its centre.

“Nice!” Jake said.

A faint trace of smile appeared on Dirk’s lips. “Your lessons didn’t go in vain.”

“Wow, that was really good for a newbie, Strider,” Meenah’s high voice echoed across the garage, and they saw her standing near the entrance with Kankri. “You are a born killer.”

“Knowing how to aim a gun doesn’t make a killer,” Dirk said flatly.

“I know. Pulling a trigger does.”

“Meenah, stop your hateful remarks, or I will make you write an essay about how mistreatment in the workplace is an important organizational and social concern that has negative effect on job satisfaction and productivity. I will judge it with extra harshness because your previous essay about communication between different departments to achieve common goals was less than satisfactory, and your apology didn’t seem genuine,” Kankri said in a bossy tone; she huffed, but shut up.

Which was good, because Jake wouldn’t have resisted smacking her.

“I wanted you to look at some of these, Dirk,” Kankri said, beckoning them to a part of the garage where broken devices were kept, and pulled covers off some of them. “Do you recognize anything?”

Jake looked at the devices, the biggest of them was a metal sphere that could accommodate a person, it had no buttons or levers, its surface was completely smooth.

“No,” Dirk said. “Should I?”

“I suppose you haven’t thought about them yet. All of these are your inventions, the ones we recovered from your base after your death. We couldn’t get either of them to work, some are unfinished, and this,” he tapped the sphere, “seems functional, but simply doesn’t let us in, and I have no idea what it does. Could you take a look?”

“Sure, I’ll do what I can,” Dirk peeked under the thick canvas covering something resembling a metal box with a slick black screen attached to it. The object was wrapped in chains, as if somebody wanted to prevent it from escaping. “What’s this?”

“This...” Kankri glanced at his teammates nervously. “This is Hal. Well, it’s his essence; the body he occupied, so to say, was destroyed, but you’ve made his heart truly immortal.”

Kankri chewed on his lip.

“It’s deactivated, of course, and I would appreciate if we just leave it in this state. I would like you to note that I consider creation of an artificial soul an outrage against human nature,” the last words were directed at Jake for some reason.

“Certainly,” Dirk dropped the cover and examined a couple of obscurely shaped guns. “What else did I make here?”

Kankri thought for a moment. “Ghost guns, three methods of teleportation, parallel universe detector in collaboration with Tentacle Therapist, a device that tampers with spirits’ ability of detecting humans, Hal – artificial intelligence... Too much to name.”

“Wow, that’s amazing, Dirk!” Jake exclaimed.

“Oh, but there’s so much more among _your_ inventions, Mr. English,” Kankri said. “We would be dead if it wasn’t for your understanding of what a soldier needs combined with strong moral principles, which is such a rarity during the war time. You and Viceroy are the only people who were noted of achieving such a remarkable feat. And I hope you wouldn’t think of me as egotistical, but I would like to humbly include myself in this list, because never once a mere thought of committing a sin such as a war crime have come into my head; even though one can argue if the term ‘war crime’ is even applicable if we are talking about the spirits. I’m open to a philosophical discussion, by the way, if you would like to have one...”

“What he’s trying to say,” Meenah interrupted, “is that almost all the amulets we are wearing are the courtesy of your work. Also a ton of combat spells. Really helpful, saved our asses thousands of times, kudos to you.”

Even after all the praise he received, Jake was still surprised that his future self has achieved such greatness. He still had trouble of connecting the two versions of himself.

***

They decided to go to Rose first, even though they knew it would make them sad to see her broken. Viceroy showed them the way, as usual, and they saw that old Rose lived in a tiniest house they’ve seen, painted with the same colours as every other building, having no distinctive characteristics.

“Miss Lalonde, you have visitors,” Viceroy called, while they stepped in the narrow dark corridor carefully; this reminded Jake a lot of their very first encounter with Rose, expect now there was no creepiness in the silence of the house, just sadness.

“Hello there,” a friendly woman’s voice said, they heard a match igniting an oil lamp.

But unlike the first time they met Rose, this time the face illuminated by dim light didn’t bear a soft mysterious smirk. Instead it was old and empty, covered in deep wrinkles; there were dark circles under her eyes, and violet irises behind thick glasses seemed faded.

“Miss Lalonde, do you know who they are?” Viceroy asked carefully, pointing at Jake and Dirk.

Jake waited for a spark of recognition in her expression, but she continued smiling and looking at them like they weren’t there.

“Did you bring new friends, Bubbles? He keeps bringing new people to meet me, no idea why...”

Her smile faltered, and her eyes widened as if she was close to remembering, but then she smiled again.

“Nice to meet you, Rose, I’m Dirk,” Dirk said, and Rose shook his hand.

“Would you like some tea?” She placed the lamp on the table and beckoned them towards the kitchen, opening a cupboard. They caught a glimpse of dozens of wine bottles, and Rose reached towards one of them automatically.

“No, thank you,” Viceroy said. “Actually we are here to take the parallel universe detector.”

“The what?” Her hand slipped on the bottle, and it clinked against the glass.

“The thing I asked you to take care of a couple of years ago.”

“Oh, of course, all of your secret playthings are in the cupboard.”

She pointed at the corner, and while Viceroy extracted the detector – a wide metal bracelet with wires wrapped around it – from under layers of trash, Jake looked at Rose, thinking that her fate was the worst of them all. He hoped he could find something from the Rose they knew in her.

“Rose, do you... remember Kanaya?” He asked softly.

“Don’t remind her!” Viceroy hissed, pinching his forearm in a way that would surely leave a bruise.

“Kanaya...” She winced in pain, and gulped the wine quickly, which made her expression relax immediately. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“I said I will be taking the detector, and we’ve got to run, but I’ll visit you tomorrow, as usual,” Viceroy said, showing a device.

“Oh, of course, it was my pleasure to assist you,” Rose said, sounding a little disappointed.

They bid their farewells, and when they went outside, Viceroy explained, “She can’t be allowed to remember Kanaya. Believe me, I was with Mrs. Lalonde since I was an infant, and I witnessed the way her death destroyed her. It’s more merciful to let her forget.”

Jake and Dirk exchanged glances, and Jake noticed that they’ve shifted closer to each other subconsciously, the only remaining unbroken pieces of normal life.

***

Jade was sitting at the kitchen table and had a spell book opened in front of her, and a spoon levitating above. She has finally managed to conjure a levitating spell that held on more than one second. Bec, who was guarding the refrigerator, now wrapped in thick chains, watched the spoon fly around the kitchen and closed his eyes again.

Jade knew the chains wouldn’t stop the spirit, but she felt safer this way, especially during the first night, when she didn’t get a wink of sleep, sitting near the fridge with the rifle loaded and ready.

But the cage worked perfectly, and Time didn’t cause any trouble, neither during the first day, nor the second and the third.

The rifle was still strapped to her back even in her sleep, because there was another thought nagging her all the time: if Aradia disappeared, her teammates sure would come to rescue her.

Suddenly Bec jumped to his feet and ran to the front door, and soon Jade heard knocking.

Opening the door, she saw Spades Slick standing there, holding very displeased Rose by the shoulder.

“Two days, as promised,” he said, pushing Rose forward roughly.

She scowled and shook him off.

“Jade, next time please don’t send mafia to get me, a letter will suffice. Now Aunt Ruth and Roxy think I am a criminal.”

“Sorry, but I’ve tried writing you hundreds of times, you didn’t answer, and I _really_ need your help.”

“What kind of story did you manage to get into this time?” Rose asked, now sounding concerned.

“I’ll tell you in a second,” Jade said and turned to Slick. “Mr. Slick, could I ask you to do me another favour? There are people who will come searching for me here, could you maybe cordon the territory off to stop them? Don’t harm anyone, just inform me if they show up, maybe we’ll need to talk.”

Spades Slick nodded and walked off, swinging his cane casually, no doubt ready to inform the rest of the Midnight Crew about their new task.

“I didn’t take you for the mobster boss,” Rose said, raising her eyebrows.

“I’m not,” Jade waved her off, “They are simply people who owe our Grandpa and Grandma a couple of favours, and they help us out sometimes.”

“I’m pretty sure they are a gang of dangerous criminals, but that’s not what’s important,” Rose said. “I reckon the reason Jake and Dirk are absent is not because they are on their honeymoon.”

Jade couldn’t help but snort, and then told Rose the whole story, in the end of which she was frowning deeply.

“So, you’ve locked the spirit of Time in your fridge?”

“Hah, yeah,” Jade scratched her head, feeling embarrassed for some reason.

“That was very good thinking, Jade,” Rose smiled at her. “You are a very quick learner, you’ll be proficient in magic in no time.”

They spent the rest of the day discussing various plans to bring the boys back, every single one of them deemed impossible.

“I’ve read about a thing, called axial point teleportation,” Jade said finally, when her head was spinning from all the discussions, half of which she still didn’t grasp completely. “That’s when an object can be summoned to its creator from any point of its existence. Maybe if we combine it with time magic, we can send it in time and use it as a hook to transport Jake and Dirk?”

“Time magic,” Rose mused and rubbed her eyes. “That’s the problem, since the beginning of the universe, humans were not meant to tamper with time. We can only observe, not change.”

She gazed at the fridge, deep in thought; the cage’s unnatural light caused deep shadows appear on her face, making her seem old and tired.

“The only one who can change time is Time. I’m afraid without its help we can’t do anything, as least for now.”

“But will it agree to help us? It will certainly ask for something in return, and we can’t set it free.”

“I can let it possess me so that I can try using its powers,” Rose started slowly, but Jade interrupted.

“No, we can’t risk it. Besides, you said so yourself, no human mind can overcome a spirit.”

Rose shrugged. “I know it’s impossible, it was just a suggestion... I think we should start with understanding in what point in time did it send them; at least it will give us some comprehension of what time period we need to contact. It could send them a second in the future, so that they wouldn’t exist for us, but we would exist for them. It would be ingeniously diabolical.”

“If only we could trick it into telling us...”

Surprisingly, Rose smiled. “Oh, the trick is simple – to seem all smart, so that when the time comes, it will have extreme pleasure of proving I’m wrong. Just follow my lead.”

Convincing herself that she trusted Rose, Jade helped her unlock the fridge and lower the cage.

Time opened its eyes and spotted Jade.

“Well-well-well, I said you will come to me eventually. Have you changed your mind about assisting me with the portal?”

“Not really,” Rose said. “Hello, by the way, I am Tentacle Therapist, you must have heard that name in your time.”

Time’s fiery eyes narrowed at her, and she smiled, satisfied by the result.

“As you can see, some humans are able to live forever, reincarnating in their successors. We don’t really need anything from you, honestly, all I want is to confirm some of my guesses. You’ve sent Dirk and Jake to the future, correct? Because if it was the past, we would’ve received a message from them already.”

Time laughed.

“So much for your title, Tentacle Therapist. Humans are so narrow-minded, I don’t understand how you survived the war at all.” It leaned forward to look Rose in the eye. “There’s more than one timeline, dummy.”

Rose rounded her mouth into an O shape, playing the role of a stupid girl perfectly.

“No way! So you transported them into a parallel timeline?”

“I transported them _in time_ ,” Time sounded condescending. “My every action creates a new timeline.”

“Oh no, so many timelines, how will we ever find our friends...” Rose lowered her head.

She was acting, but Jade wasn’t; she really didn’t know how they were going to find them in the infinite stream of time.

“I suppose I can use this though...” Rose said, showing the crystal ball. “I would like to see other timelines, is it possible?”

Time laughed again. “You want me to help you use Light’s vessel for foretelling? If you translate it into human language, it’s like killing one’s best friend for the sole purpose of using their intestines to predict tomorrow’s weather. The answer is no,” it looked the girls over. “You can ask as many questions as you want. Even if Light or I tell you all about the inner workings of time, you still won’t be able to do anything. Your dim-witted human brains are not meant for understanding time.”

“I bet they have time machines on every corner in the future,” Jade said.

“The poisoned people of the future won’t be able to create a time machine.”

Jade frowned. “You are planning on poisoning them? Good luck with that, they know better than to take provision out of spirits’ hands!”

Time looked at her with great pity. “Why do humans always take everything so literally? We don’t use nourishment to poison people. Our venom spreads through magic.”

Jade and Rose exchanged glances, and Jade took a step back.

“Are you poisoning us right now?” Rose asked slowly, uncomfortable and wary.

Time smirked, and Jade felt the same pressing, unsettling gut feeling she experienced when she saw the spirit for the first time. Subconsciously, she tried to reach out for Bec.

“Feeling uneasy, are you, Tentacle Therapist? Maybe this uneasiness is the sign of every bit of magic contained within your soul decaying, a first step of you rotting from inside until there’s nothing left but pure darkness, consuming your mind, leaving nothing but a chunk of void you call your soul, with nothing to save you from your inevitable descent–”

Jade gasped as the cage shot up again, turning Time into a motionless, silent figure, and she saw Rose’s hands trembling, and the light reflecting in her wide eyes.

***

The next time Jake and Dirk saw Viceroy was during dinner with Kankri and his team, in the end of this tough eternal day.

Rufioh pulled up a chair for him immediately and gave him a plate, and Cronus said, “It’s so rare Vice joins us at the table; of course, it must be for our honoured guests.”

He took a guitar. “Let me sing you a welcoming song I’ve composed myself, using very personal heartfelt lyrics.”

“Cronus, changing two words in an already existing song doesn’t make it yours,” Meenah rolled her eyes.

Cronus ignored her and strung the guitar. “Alright, this one comes right from my heart. _You kept the wrong ones out, and saved the right ones fast, like angels of mercy protected this world in the past, there were times in my life when I was going insane–_ ”

“Please cease, we are trying to eat,” Kankri used levitation to snatch the guitar and make it fly back on the shelf. “We gave a Hippocratic oath, did we not? As a retainer of medicine you must know that distractions are a bad influence on a digestive system, thus, by choosing to perform you betray the ethical standards you swore to uphold.”

While Cronus explained him something about art not having any physical boundaries, Viceroy folded the cloak and the scarf neatly and turned to Dirk and Jake.

“Actually, I came to give you these,” he showed them two golden round pendants decorated with flowery ornaments. “These are universal amulets incorporating many useful qualities, they are able to substitute most of the amulets you were given.”

“Thanks, I was getting tired of wearing a kettlebell on my neck,” Dirk said, undoing all the chains, and giving Viceroy a jingling bunch of Meulin’s amulets.

“Thank you, I will put them in – wait a second – what’s that?!” Viceroy shrieked suddenly, threw himself forward, and ripped a chain off Dirk’s neck, levitating a ring, looking at it with an open mouth; everyone at the table turned to stare at them immediately, spoons frozen next to mouths.

“That’s the Void vessel–” Dirk began, and Viceroy shook the ring in front of him violently.

“I _know_ it’s the Void vessel, it was a rhetorical question!! Why didn’t you tell me you have it?! We can create a paradox with it!”

“Didn’t you say paradoxes aren’t possible?” Jake asked.

“For humans, but not for the spirits! That’s why Time is always so careful with time travelling, it can’t allow meeting itself, but if we can collide the Void vessel with real Void...” He slipped a hand into his wiry curls. “I don’t know what we can do with the paradox yet, I’ve never actually encountered one, and they are extremely dangerous, but I’m sure we can find a way…”

“We can join it with the detector, since their universe currently has no Void, it’s also a paradox, it will help us pinpoint the correct timeline,” Damara prompted, and earned approving chatter from everyone.

“Good, that’s the start, something to work with,” Viceroy beamed. “It looks like you are going to return home very soon.”

Jake smiled at Dirk, internally thanking him for wearing the ring; the news uplifted him so much he dug into his plate without minding the strange taste and colour of the future food.

For the rest of the day he tried to catch Dirk alone, to reassure him that he shouldn’t be blamed for the crimes of another person from the future, and maybe talk more about the things he said under the serum’s influence (like what kind of things he was afraid of, and why death wasn’t one of them, and whether Jake could help with anything), but Dirk was constantly surrounded by other people. Sometimes Jake thought he was doing this on purpose, but he couldn’t pinpoint the reason why Dirk wouldn’t want to talk to him.

They couldn’t even get some privacy when everyone went to sleep – the team spent nights like an army too, in the same room, so that everyone could be raised at once in case of emergency. Viceroy was the only exception, having his own house.

“We don’t have an extra bed at the moment,” Kankri said, “But you can take mine for this night, I am going on a night watch anyway.”

That’s how they found themselves squeezed into a narrow bed, and when Jake was lying sleepless, watching colourful reflections of the protective dome sliding on the ceiling, as if they were in a train passing by an endless row of street lamps, listening to occasional sleepy grumbles from the team, and feeling Dirk’s warm breath on his cheek, he thought that a mere day ago it would have been everything he’s ever wanted.

But it was still pretty good, Jake thought, as Dirk swung an arm around him in his sleep, and Jake nuzzled into his shoulder, inhaling familiar scent of gunpowder.

Maybe when they would wake up tomorrow, Viceroy would have a time machine ready for them, and they’d be able to bid goodbyes to this world and avoid uncovering any more of its unpleasant secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed another trip into the misery and suffering with this chapter! I have so many sad comics I want to draw about the relationship between Jake, Dirk, and Rose, you have no idea. Actually, each of their stories deserve a spin-off.  
> As you can see by the title, originally "A Dying Man's Wish" was supposed to be a single chapter - but I wanted Jake and Jake's conversation to be separated from the upcoming events, because I love it and I think it's one of the most important conversations.  
> Huge thanks to everyone to leaves kudos and comments, this really means a lot!


	12. A Dying Man's Wish, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jake tells his story and Dirk has a plan.
> 
> Thank you so much for all the beautiful comments, I love you guys!

Jake woke up later than anyone else, as usual; he still couldn’t fix his sleeping schedule according to the rest of the team, especially seeing how they had a habit of getting up even earlier than Dirk, at five in the morning.

Honestly, he didn’t even want to – that would be the same as agreeing to stay here forever, and he was still sure that they could go home any moment. That’s why he was reluctant in accepting accommodations the team provided, like a personal bed, a toothbrush, and seat at the common table, and being included in the chores and patrols – but he did accept it anyway, in order not to appear rude.

He did his usual morning routine of popping the muffling bubble which he usually cast around his bed as to not wake anyone as up when he had weird, twisted nightmares that never had any clear images, yet left the feeling of dull desperation in the morning. So far nobody suspected he had nightmares, not even Dirk; but judging by his haggard state every morning, Jake could guess he had bad dreams of his own to take care of.

They didn’t discuss them; ever since discovering his fate in this world Dirk stopped trying to have any conversations concerning himself.

Jake shook his head, trying to clear his mind, and summoned the glasses from the bedside table with a simple spell, and tiptoed towards the kitchen, careful not to wake up Mituna, who has returned from the night watch.

It’s been five days since their arrival to the future.

On the second day Viceroy said that he couldn’t do anything to make the paradox safe, and he didn’t know how to unite it with the detector yet, but he promised to do research. He looked so guilty, Jake immediately said that’s it was okay, even though he felt like a giant rock settled in his chest.

“What if we are stuck here forever?” He asked Dirk on the third day, when they sat outside, gazing at the moon and stars above the rainbow skies.

“Well, then we’ll have to adapt,” Dirk said.

“Will we be able to though?”

“We are humans, that’s what we do. But don’t worry, if I promised to get you out of here, it means I will. Come to think about it, the future has its perks – you can do magic.”

Dirk sounded flatter and flatter with each passed day, as if the future was draining him.

He was right, Jake had something new to discover each day, spells and potions and all kinds of magic, and everyone was amazed by how fast he was picking it up, which was very flattering and did a good job in keeping his spirits up.

But Dirk still couldn’t perform a simplest spell, and Jake knew it was frustrating him, not being able to do so in the world run by magic. Instead he focused on learning how the devices he invented worked, but even that came to no avail, since they relied on magic as well. People like Meenah, who considered him a killer, didn’t help.

Jake thought about Jade every day, of course. He wondered what she was doing right now; if she survived (he always quickly substituted the word _if_ to _after_ ), she has probably found Rose.

During the past days they didn’t waste time: Jake has gone to talk to his older self a couple of more times, leaning essential information (and one time they didn’t even end up arguing).

In one of those rare peaceful conversations Jake manages to coax some information about what happened on the day of Jade’s death out of him.

“We didn’t have all the vessels,” the other Jake said. “We didn’t have Space, or Heart, or Blood, or Hope, but we decided to open the portal anyway, because... You see, Time had a different approach with us. It didn’t send any of us in time – but I got stuck in a loop of reliving the same day over and over, until Jade and Dirk trapped the spirit,” he laughed, short and bitter. “Judging by your expression, you think it’s harmless compared to what happened to you. But it wasn’t. It was worse, so much worse. And we decided we’ve had enough. It was Strider’s idea, everything was. He said we had to open the portal on our turf, to be in control, and... You know how _in control_ we ended up being.

“John owed us, so we went to Halitus and found a spot away from all the towns. There were five of us, Jade, Bec, Dirk, Rose, and me. Rose created a small dome around us, like the one you see outside, so that when the portal opens, the creatures from the other side won’t be able to escape. Like the ritual instructed, we placed all the vessels we had in a circle, drawing a special symbol under each one. Rose read the incantation, and then they lit up on fire, and the portal was opened – and all our precautions backfired.

“The amount of energy coming from the portal into an unprepared world was unbelievable, there was so much concentrated pressure, it was crashing us, and Rose had to lift the dome, otherwise we would die in the next few seconds – but because she did it, all the pressure focused on her, and it was too much. Just as she undid her spell, she was knocked out into a sort of magic-induced coma.

“Monsters, ghouls, and creatures started pouring out of the portal, and we were separated,” older Jake stuttered and took a few deep breaths. “There were myriads of ghouls, we couldn’t see each other, and I was still in shock after being hit by the portal energy, it took a while to shake the headache off – and I tried to find Dirk. Dirk, not Jade, because I knew he wasn’t able to do magic to protect himself… I’m not trying to seek excuses, but this was my mistake… I should’ve found Jade instead,” he squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. “We were ready to grab the vessels and throw them into the portal, but… We were already too late. In a swarm of ghouls and underlings I saw the vessels around the portal pulsing with fire, and I didn’t know what it meant back then, but I sensed it was no good – and I was right, it meant that the spirits were about to be released, after getting a dose of direct energy enough to break the bonds of the vessels… So I tried to find Jade,” he closed his eyes with a terribly miserable expression. “And I did find her. But she was… she...”

His lips quivered, and he pressed a hand over his face.

“And there was nothing I could do, nothing I could think about but how Bec was lying on top of her, how he tried to shield her – but the spirits cared about no life.

“I don’t know how much time passed while I just held Jade in my arms, hoping this was just a coma, trying not to think about her open empty eyes – but when I looked up, I saw all the spirits, gloating at their victory, even the ones whose vessels we didn’t find, Space, and Blood, and Hope, and Heart. The shock wave of magic has enveloped the entire Earth and released them, and there were portals opened around us, allowing them to travel to this place. Space, master of the portals, opened more and more of them for the ghouls to spread across the Earth faster, to spread chaos and announce that humans were entering an apocalypse, but I was so numb, it didn’t matter to me. Nothing mattered. I couldn’t think, but one thing was clear: there was no way we could win. Jade and Bec, gone, Rose in coma; what’s two men against a billion spirits, especially when one of them isn’t even a magician?

“At that moment Jade was all I could think about, and I almost missed the way Space aimed at me, but Dirk took Rose and pushed me inside a random portal.

“We ended up in Sandford, and he told me we should get someone to help Rose, but I didn’t care; the spirits wanted to take Jade as a trophy, their first drawn blood, but I couldn’t let them. Of course, later I realized Dirk’s actions were the most sensible, if there was a choice between Jade and Rose, he wanted to help the one who was still alive, but at that moment the only right thing for me was jumping back inside the portal.

“I don’t know how I managed to survive being a target of all twelve spirits, it was miraculous luck, or maybe it was simply determination to get Jade’s and Bec’s bodies, because... I couldn’t leave them. And frankly – I still couldn’t believe they were dead.

“I got back to Sandford through the same portal. We had to find someone who could bring Rose back to life, and at first, it seemed like an impossible task – we thought she was the only real magician. But then we saw the building of Sandford University, and remembered that there were others. We had to go to Eridan and Aradia, who thankfully agreed to cure Rose, while I was sitting there, holding Jade and Bec. Eridan went to find his teammates, while Aradia performed a ritual to wake Rose up, and Dirk turned on the radio transmitter, sending a message across the Empire to tell people not to pick fights, to simply grab their valuables and hide. Then he cut the curtains off to wrap Jade and Bec. And I… I was kind of relieved I didn’t have to see their faces anymore, Jade’s eyes… Her eyes...” Jake’s voice broke, and he pursed his trembling lips. “Her eyes still haunt me. By the time we came out of university with Rose, half of Sandford population was murdered, the other fled in panic.

“Rose’s first notion was to find Kanaya, she used the radio to tell her to take the books and amulets from her house and go to their secret place, hoping she was listening; and through trial and error we found a portal that led to Avis and got her. We got there just in time to see the biggest explosion ever, when Space destroyed the city completely as an act of showing dominance, with every single person there… Or so we thought. We thought Equius, Nepeta, and the Striders didn’t make it, so we turned around. And then we ran and we ran, trying to escape the slaughter enveloping entire Earth, the blood flowing the streets, the torn heads and limbs lying whenever the spirits managed to find people, there was no place untouched... And then we had to bury Jade and Bec.

“I will always remember it, the way I dug that grave until my fingernails were no more and my hands we bleeding, and it wasn’t enough, because I would give up both of my arms for just a chance to get her back... It shouldn’t have been like this. It was too hasty when it should have been thorough, and there should have been many more people to say goodbye to her, but there were just four of us... We didn’t have time,” he said pleadingly. “We expected spirits to come after us any moment. So I put Jade and Bec inside that hole, and we scrapped their names on the stones, and then... All we could do is run again. Run, while the portals were still open, leap from one to another, avoiding spells thrown our way, see the destruction done to every city, and search for others who were still alive.

“Our first safehouse became a mausoleum in the Nocteville cemetery, because as it turns out, the spirits didn’t really care for dead people. They were already dead, they couldn’t inflict any more misery on them. So we sat there, in the cage of freezing stone, and every time I looked outside I saw Jade and Bec’s grave. I knew John’s people hid in the catacombs, he was able to save most of Halitus citizens. He was a true leader, despite his age… And that’s how we lived, constantly on the run, in despair, in fear, but there was nowhere to go. There was no chance for us to be happy. The only people who could lead a decent life here were the new generation who were born in the wartime, like Felice Zahhak-Leijon, who never knew another world and were ready to create their own... And you want to know what the saddest thing is?” Jake’s eyes were glazed with sorrow. “I haven’t eaten waffles with chocolate syrup in fifty years.”

That last sentence was the final nail driven right into his chest, and Jake dropped his gaze, unable to look up.

The other Jake kept talking about the first days of the war, voice slow and growing quieter with every minute, but Jake didn’t want to hear it anymore, every word just added to the unpleasant weight in his stomach.

So instead he copied the ritual needed to open and close the portal in the spirit realm in his journal carefully, receiving advice on how they should be the ones to initiate the opening.

“On September the twenty-fifth the portal will be breached anyway, this is the day the barrier of souls wears thin. So you’d better have the element of surprise and open it yourself, finding all the vessels and throwing them inside,” the other Jake said. “This is the only chance you have. It’s impossible to kill a spirit, the only way to get rid of them is when they’re at their weakest. Once the portal opens and the spirits are released in their true forms, there’s nothing you will be able to do. They will win.”

Jake’s also leant that since they came from a time where spirits weren’t predominant, their souls were clean of the venomous magic.

When Jake first heard this, he was scared it was something lethal, but older Jake explained that it was merely the spirits’ way of trying to infect the matter to destroy the magical talent in people; but it was too slow to have any real effect, that’s why people have developed immunity before they could lose their abilities. He also said it was the reason Jake could learn so quickly, his soul was clean of poison.

“I would suggest you lay off magic to preserve your soul, but you’re already too far gone,” he said.

When Jake asked why Dirk couldn’t use spells, older Jake shrugged and said that some people are just not meant for the world of magic.

In the end he said that the most important thing about his was the connection between the old times and the only two sources of clean magic this world had. He said that the two should be drawn to each other like magnets, and that he and Viceroy would look into ways they can bring the two together. He said figuring it out would take some time, since nobody’s ever done this before.

Jake tried not to be crushed by the fact that judging by his voice, these words translated into “this is impossible”.

When Jake asked whether there was a way of not using the source at all, the other Jake replied that without a source of old magic they simply wouldn’t be able to find their timeline and travel back.

Jake and Dirk visited Rose too, but it brought nothing but sadness; she never recognized them and couldn’t give any advice about time-travelling, so they stopped.

However, they knew for a fact that Viceroy visited his old mentor every day; he drunk tea, Rose drunk wine, he always called her Miss and was ready to discuss anything, from knitting needles to best patterns for wallpaper.

“Please, when you go back, don’t let her use necromancy,” Viceroy said one day, after visiting Rose. “It brought her a lot of pain.”

“It’s possible to bring people back from the dead?!” Jake gasped.

Viceroy shook his head sadly. “No, not really. Necromancy is a deal with the devil, metaphorically. If you use simple, classic rituals, you see images of the dead, but you can’t truly talk to them and can’t hold them in this realm, they feed off your grieve and leave you emaciated. The _true_ necromancy, the one that pulls the souls from the afterlife, can’t be used for personal gain, and you can’t feel any grieve – however, you can’t perform a ritual without it, so you are stuck in an endless circle. I think it’s the universe’s way of saying the wisest thing we can do is to accept death.”

“But those two statements contradict each other,” Dirk frowned. “Does it mean necromancy simply isn’t possible to perform?”

“No, they don’t. After all, you remember the Legend of Twelve Spirits: the ancients could summon the souls of the fallen to aid them with sealing the portal... You see, soul manipulation is the most complicated and dangerous branch of magic, not everyone can do it.”

“Why didn’t you summon the souls to help you defeat the spirits?”

“I tried,” Viceroy’s expression saddened. “They didn’t answer my call.”

Jake and Dirk have also been to several raids against minor groups of the spirits’ minions. Dirk was amazing, switching between guns, bombs and his sword so fast the ghouls weren’t able to anticipate attacks, sometimes Jake was so carried away be the sight of him he nearly missed his own opponents’ attacks – but the spells he learnt could rip the ghouls apart in mere seconds, so he was safe.

Both of them received praise, and Cronus even joked about wanting them to stay here forever. Jake answered with a forced laugh, cursing him internally.

Kankri’s team became their friends, kind of: Dirk even managed to befriend Meenah, who didn’t want to say a word to him initially. “We are cool now,” he said, “we found some common grounds to agree on.”

Jake had to admit that he admired even strange or unlikable people like Meenah or Cronus – admired all the future people for knowing the battle they were fighting was impossible to win, and it would be so easy and justified to give up; yet they kept on fighting, standing tall and proud.

While reminiscing about the events of the past days, Jake reached the kitchen and found Cronus sitting there, polishing the blue gun that was, in fact, Eridan’s upgraded gun. Jake knew that Cronus’s last name, Ampora, wasn’t a result of any relation to Eridan, he simply admired the brave hero he, apparently, became in this world; but Jake still felt uneasy every time he heard it.

“Morning,” he greeted Cronus and received at enthusiastic wave in reply. “Have you seen Dirk?”

“He’s talking to Mr. English.”

“Oh,” Jake could manage. Dirk never seemed too keen of talking to older Jake, because the latter’s conflicted emotions took the easiest form of manifestation: anger or ignorance.

He went towards the hospital anyway, with random people greeting him cheerfully along the way, and saw Dirk coming out of the hospital’s doors in the company of Viceroy, Damara, and Meenah. Judging by their expressions, they’ve been having quite an argument.

However, they stopped as soon as they spotted Jake, and he hurried towards them.

“Morning!” He greeted everyone, and received a warm smile from Dirk, which made him grin too – he haven’t seen Dirk smile in eternity.

“Uh, I have to go,” Viceroy said, pulling at his scarf nervously, and all but ran away.

“Huh? What’s up with him?” Jake frowned.

Dirk shrugged. “Dunno, isn’t he always like that?”

Jake hummed, confused, but he didn’t want dwell on it right now.

“Dirk, can I talk to you in private? I want to show you something.”

“Of course,” he nodded, and waved at Damara and Meenah, who went away, discussing something in hushed tones.

Jake led him to a quiet corner behind the barracks and spread his arms, saying another spell, and letting the enjoyable sensation of magic running through his veins interlace with the matter of the universe and weave a cocoon around them.

Dirk touched the walls that looked like they were made of thick opaque glass, and asked, “What is this, a bubble?”

“It’s an impenetrable shield,” Jake said, marvelling at the sight of subdue wonder in Dirk’s face and wondering for a hundredth time if he should just stop caring about everything and kiss him. “It’s also the last spell from the list Meulin gave me; a tough one, I have to admit.”

“That’s very good, Jake,” Dirk looked at him with an unusually soft expression. “You are going to be a great magician.”

“Hah, yeah... But that’s not all,” he laughed and took a sealed letter out; the bubble popped as soon as his hands lowered. “It means I finally get to open Meulin’s letter. And, since she gave it to both of us, I wanted to do it with you.”

Of course, Meulin gave the letter for Jake to read in private, but he simply wanted Dirk to feel included.

He broke the seal, and saw a paper covered in familiar scrawny writing, decorated in tiny drawings and smiley faces. They both bent over to read it.

_Dear Jake,_

_If you are reading this, you must have stood by your promise and have mastered all of the spells I gave you, and you are dying to know the final secret of magic :D_

_I think that the power of magic comes not from skills, but from believing in its power. You must know how it feels, when you use it, it’s like a universe speaks to you… Uncle Dirk would roll his eyes at his, he doesn’t believe it; but you and I both agree magic comes from will, and desire of things, and need to protect, don’t we?_

_The thing is, by learning it, people also put mental barriers that prevent them from using it to its full potent. Unfortunately, when I realized it, it was too late for me, but not for you – you come from old times, with world unspoiled, soul undamaged. I hope you are not offended because I made you my little project to prove this theory :) After all, if I’m right, it will help you immensely._

_There’s a lot of autohypnosia going on in studies of magic. People think it comes from words, and maybe it does, sort of – but only partly. Personally, I believe there are certain people who don’t need words at all, and as we’ve established, believing is important :p_

_Non-verbal magicians are very rare, and I’ve never met one, but I think I know what qualities one should have. And, well. I believe YOU have them :D_

_So here is the big secret (are you ready? :0 Imagine drums right here!) – the last page of the journal I gave you has accurate descriptions of how the spells work – but the words are kinda wrong._

_And if you stood by your promise and opened this letter after you’ve performed all of them successfully – congratulations, Jake! You are the best magician the world’s ever seen. Not that I’ve ever doubted that <3_

_Yours, and so proud of you,_

_Meulin_

_P.S. Hope we can meet once more before you go back in the past :D :D :D_

_P.P.S. IMAGINE THE LOOKS ON THE OTHERS’ FACES WHEN THEY HEAR I GOT TO BE DACE HAGLER’S MENTOR!!!!_

Jake closed the letter and looked at Dirk, barely containing his joy.

“How fascinating is that!” He couldn’t resist grabbing him by shoulders and spinning him around. Then he concentrated, listening to the hum of the matter around them, eager to respond to whatever command it’s given – snapped his fingers, and multicoloured confetti rained all over them.

“Why did you learn a confetti spell?” Dirk huffed, and Jake dishevelled his hair, shaking paper out of them.

“I thought Jade would love it,” he said, with a fleeting wave of sadness that passed as soon as it appeared.

However, Dirk spotted it anyway and said seriously, “I promise you’ll get out and reunite with her soon. In fact, I’ve been preparing a plan that might be the most ingenious plan I’ve ever had.”

“I know we will,” Jake smiled, and they started walking towards the garage. “Is that what you’ve been arguing about with Viceroy?”

“Yes, it still requires revisions. But it looks like we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

“ _Tomorrow?!_ ” Jake stopped dead on his tracks. “Why didn’t I hear anything about it?!”

“We didn’t want to get your hopes up for a plan that might not work. But some calculations showed that it’s the best chance of getting back into the past, so here I am, telling you,” Dirk held a curtain for Jake to walk into the garage.

Viceroy was there, still looking nervous and fiddling with his cloak.

“Are we going to visit Void and get the paradox?” Jake asked.

“No,” Viceroy said. “You see, I was a little... optimistic when I thought of paradoxes. The truth is…” He inhaled and started talking rapidly. “Paradoxes are _extremely_ rare, because they are extremely _dangerous_ , with a potential to rip the entire universe apart if not contained properly. Nobody in our time has ever attempted to use it to their benefit, and even in the times of great magic two thousand years ago, both humans and spirits avoided them like plague. Space is the only one capable of fixing the damage it does, but even its powers are limited, because a paradox is basically the force of the broken laws of creation, and no spirit power can battle it.”

“Maybe I can assist with handing it?” Jake asked and made bunch of screwdrivers near Viceroy tap dance. “Look, non-verbal magic!”

Viceroy’s mouth feel open.

“This is incredible! How did you– Nevermind,” he shook his head and became serious again. “Paradoxes should only be used as the last resort. Actually, I’d even say they shouldn’t be used at all. And besides, paradox is merely an enabler of travelling through parallel universes, it’s a blatant force that needs to be guided properly by the fuel. And since we want to send you in a certain time period, we need a source of old magic from your timeline to use as fuel. Without the source nothing would work.”

“All for the greater good,” Dirk added and threw Rose’s detector at Jake. “Because there’s also another way we can travel back in the past. We thought, why can’t we, the people who came from the old times, be used as this miraculous source? Viceroy figured out how to do it–”

“No, I didn’t!” Viceroy exclaimed. “Uh, I mean, don’t be so modest, it was your idea.”

“It was a mutual idea of Viceroy’s, mine, and the old man’s,” Dirk continued, “But it so happens that humans are the best natural sources of magic with a ton of useful properties, including an ability to break down the walls of parallel worlds, so we don’t even need the paradox anymore. Lucky us. The only thing humans don’t have is an ability to perform time gimmicks, but they can be received from Time directly. It means we have to pay Time a visit and Viceroy will intercept its magic and channel it through our auras or wherever magic is kept, right into the detector; it will give the detector a boost, it will act as a time machine, and voila, two parts of old magic will be glued together,” he clasped his hands together victoriously.

“Seriously, this will work?” Jake asked, daring to believe.

“Easier said than done,” Viceroy said with a troubled expression. “I’m still unsure about intercepting time, all I did in the past days were theoretical studies.”

“I’m sure you can do it!” Jake exclaimed, slapping his shoulder. This gave him power to hope again, finally they had a plan; home never seemed so close and he was jittery with anticipation. “When are we moving out, in the morning? At night? Right now? I’m ready to go whenever!”

“Tomorrow morning,” Viceroy sighed.

“It’s settled then. Since it’s our last day in the future,” Dirk said, bowing his head in what he thought was a gentlemanly gesture, “Would you care to accompany me for the last walk around the town?”

“With pleasure,” Jake answered with a proper bow and grinned.

Now that he knew they were going back home tomorrow, this world and this commune seemed a lot merrier, even the people in the streets who looked at him as though he was a messiah didn’t seem as irritating.

It was a shame they didn’t have a camera, because now that he knew that the next time he’ll see the future will be in sixty years, and it’s not going to be the same, he wanted to document every single little thing, to honour the people who tried so hard to make life normal for the civilians they protected.

Although a pencil and a journal were a good substitute.

Visiting every single place in town, from farms to hideouts to the school to Rose’s house took a whole day; and even though Jake knew he should be preparing to battle Time’s minions, sitting together with Dirk and watching a three-headed duck landing in a pond coloured by rainbow reflections of the darkening sky was so much better.

“Jade will be so jealous when she hears about our adventures,” Jake said, picking up a flat rock from an opposite shore with magic – it was so much easier without the words, like extending a long invisible arm.

“Depends on how much you are going to tell her,” Dirk replied, watching the rock skip on the pond’s surface.

“Yeah...”

Jake opened the journal and sketched both the duck and the skipping stone, pondering whether it would be better to withhold some information from Jade, like the dead city Jake sometimes saw in his nightmares.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said a proper thank you,” Dirk said, kicking small stones around.

“What for?”

“For showing me there’s so much more to the world than I gave it credit for. For demonstrating that the universe doesn’t end with the walls of Centaur Technologies workshop. For many other things.”

“Oh,” Jake felt slightly embarrassed, and blush crept up on his cheeks immediately. “You shouldn’t thank me for that, I didn’t know anything about real magic before the Crystal Falls too.”

Dirk shrugged.

“I was just thinking about the time you asked me if I regret anything. And I’ve changed my mind, as well as my answer: there’s nothing to regret. I’m just glad I met you, that’s all.”

Jake gazed at him; dim specks of colour moved on his face, making it out-of-worldly. “Really?”

“Sure,” he said, and Jake just looked at him, journal forgotten, marvelling at the pattern of freckles he’s already memorized, the way golden strands of hair fell over the forehead in a way so familiar it was almost painful.

His heart suddenly felt too big for his chest.

“I will rename the book into The Wondrous Adventures of Harley, English, and Strider,” Jake spluttered out before he could say something else. “The new series, once I publish them. And after everything is over, you can come visit Jade and me any time, you know that, right?”

“Thanks for the offer, but please don’t name a book after me. I mean, what if people will think it’s about Dane or Dave? Having my accomplishments ascribed to my brothers – I won’t be able to live with that, not ever,” he clutched his chest in a dramatic way.

Jake smiled, knowing he just wanted to divert the conversation from the topic he didn’t want to discuss; and he decided to go along with it.

“Such a shame we couldn’t talk to future you,” Jake said later, when it got dark, and they were lying on their backs staring at the sky, the rainbow ornaments constantly moving and never repeating.

Dirk hummed. “Personally, I’m glad I managed to kick the bucket early. I can’t imagine myself as an old fart. Grey hair, beard, glasses so thick when the sun hits them they scorch my eyes…” He shuddered. “No thanks.”

Jake breathed out a laugh.

“Maybe you are right… I saw myself and now the fun is kind of spoiled. Like I’ve seen the last page of a book accidentally.”

It didn’t help that his future self turned out to be a disappointment.

“Here’s what I’ve learnt from this adventure – old people are dicks, we should stay young forever. Or die young.”

“Holy guacamole, Dirk, don’t say things like that!” Jake swung his hand blindly intending to slap Dirk’s shoulder, but hit his face accidentally.

Dirk pushed him away in reply, Jake pushed him too, and soon they were rolling on the ground in a good-natured brawl.

Jake could win, he knew it, especially now that magic was on his side, but frankly, he wanted see Dirk dominate him, because the mere concept made his head spin, combining into a glorious string of innuendos in Jake’s head.

“Losing your touch, English,” Dirk smirked, pressing Jake’s wrists down. His face was flushed. “The first time we met you could overthrow me like a baby. But I guess I can finally cross a line out of the list of my life wishes. It was really hurting my self-esteem.”

“I can still conjure up an anvil to drop on your head,” Jake breathed, and shook his head when Dirk laughed. “Okay, maybe I can’t. Anyway, if we are playing by the old rules, you still get a wish, any wish.”

“You are giving a guy a lot of power,” Dirk said, straightening up and releasing Jake. “Let’s save it for now, I think I’ll cash it in tomorrow, fairy godmother.”

“Right-o,” Jake said, intrigued by what he will think of – and happy that he could feel emotions like curiosity again. He ripped a page out of a journal and wrote _‘A coupon for one wish’_ there, shoving it into Dirk’s pocket.

All in all with an ending like this Jake could even say that their sojourn in the future wasn’t completely gloom.

Tomorrow he was going to go home.

Tomorrow he was going to see Jade.

***

The next morning every single person except for Damara and Meenah, who went to prepare a portal to Time’s area, gathered to see them off.

“Such a shame you can’t stay with us longer,” Cronus said. “I was hoping you could assist us in defeating the spirits for good.”

“Be quiet,” Kankri silenced him, “Saying things like this is rude and can damage people’s confidence, leading to emotional scarring that can last for life.”

“Telling a person to be quiet is rude too,” Cronus pouted.

Jake still felt like they had to at least try to fix this timeline, that’s why he brought this topic up when they were walking the underground corridors with Viceroy to catch up with Damara and Meenah, who were going to accompany them.

Dirk was carrying a backpack with all the devices they needed, as well as two giant guns and his sword, and Viceroy was wearing his scarf and cloak again and carried a crook made of old tree’s root.

“Are you sure there isn’t a way I can travel into the past of your timeline and change it?” Jake asked Viceroy eagerly. He was so happy they were finally going home he could bounce, and he wanted to share this happiness with everyone else.

“Believe me, if we could we would’ve done it ages ago,” he said. “Any time-travelling simply creates an alternate timeline.”

Viceroy handed them a bunch of new amulets that should conceal them from Time once they leave protection of the dome.

“Also, you need to take this,” he passed Jake the Void ring. “A proper portal can’t be opened without all the vessels present in the world.”

“You’d better give it to Dirk, he’s the one usually wearing it.”

Viceroy hesitated, and Dirk shook his head.

“Nah, there’s too much weight on me already,” he shook the amulets. “One more gram and I’ll fall down like a prisoner strapped to a metal ball.”

Jake laughed and locked the chain around his neck.

They reunited with Damara and Meenah, sporting guns and the portal glove, outside the dome, and the latter opened a portal.

“Everyone ready?” She asked.

“Ready!” Jake exclaimed and was the first one to step into the black hole.

A new land unravelled before his eyes: they were standing in the ruins of what used to be a big city, metal carcasses of the buildings were sticking from the ground with debris hanging from them.

The atmosphere was dead silent except for glass crunching under Jake’s boots.

Everything was lit in dim brick-red colour, making the clouds terracotta, and among the ruins, a huge purely black cube stood – Jake guessed in was Time’s lair.

Its slick surface and straight lines were menacing, and Jake shivered against his will, suddenly realizing he didn’t participate in the strategy planning, and had only a faint idea about what they were about to do.

He heard soft whooshing of the closing portal, and Damara handed Jake a small gun silently.

“It’s okay, I don’t need it,” Jake waved her off, smiling.

Meenah rolled her eyes.

“Yes, we get it, you’re a super-duper cool non-verbal magician, geez,” she grabbed the gun and shoved it into Jake’s pocket. “That’s why we wouldn’t want to lose such a specimen simply because he didn’t care about basic means of self-defence.”

“You’d better give him a portal glove instead,” Dirk remarked.

Meenah huffed. “If you wanted one, you should’ve made your own.”

“It wouldn’t work in your world,” Damara said.

“Why?” Jake asked.

“Because it operates on magic, duh,” Meenah said. “There isn’t enough in your world to make something as complicated as portals work.”

Her words made Jake realize that he won’t be able to use magic at its full potent once they return.

Surprisingly, magic has become his close friend over these five days; it wasn’t something new he acquired, but a part of his soul that he didn’t know existed. While the power over the matters of the universe attracted him, the most amazing thing about magic was its possibilities for creation – and it was the thing he would miss the most.

“Let’s move,” Viceroy said. “Don’t attract attention until it’s absolutely necessary.”

They went on, climbing over occasional debris and generally trying to stay in shadows the carcasses of the buildings provided.

It was uneventful until Jake’s eye caught a familiar sight of thick beige walls made of marble.

“Are we in Crystal Falls?” He asked, taking in the museum, and Viceroy confirmed his guess.

He examined the building closer, and saw that the platform that used to lead to the falls was destroyed, as well as half of the museum, as if a bomb was dropped on it. One of the reasons he didn’t recognize the Crystal Falls straight away was because the waterfalls were non-existent now: there was no water in this land, just ground covering in brick-coloured powder and an occasional dry plant sticking out of it.

He was just about to turn around and join the group when he spotted the pale glint of ten eyes belonging to a deformed basilisk that bared its teeth.

As usual, no effort was needed to summon a chunk of energy and send it rocketing at the creature’s face, blasting it into puddles of goo with a soft _thump_.

“Shit, English, what happened to non disclosure we agreed on?!” Meenah didn’t try to keep her voice down anymore and prepared her gun.

“There was a basilisk,” Jake began, but shut up when he saw a whole swarm on underlings raising from it; he must’ve agitated a whole nest. “Uh, sorry.”

“Yes, I can see it!” Meenah fired at the closest basilisk soaring up in the sky, while another spat fire at her, only to be met with Damara’s retaliatory spell. “If we die because you wanted to show off with your magic–”

“I wasn’t showing off!” Jake exclaimed, sending a blast of energy that pierced three basilisks at once.

It was only half-true though; he shot at that underling only because he wanted to feel the indescribable power magic gave him for one last time, to feel his soul becoming truly alive, using all its potential.

Dirk fired at the creatures from all the guns he had.

“At least now we don’t have to worry about searching for Time, it will certainly know we are here,” he said grimly.

The ghouls, transparent and wobbling like ghosts from kid’s books, joined the underlings, coming at them from all sides; the brawl turned more intense with every second.

Jake threw a fireball at a ghoul only to have it pass right though – he forgot ghouls had to be destroyed with a different kind of matter than underlings. Before he could conjure a new spell, Dirk’s gun blew the ghoul into smithereens, and Jake sent a smile of gratitude towards him, amazed as always how fast his reflexes were.

Dirk smiled at him quickly as well, turning on his heels and plunging the sword into another underling the next second.

“Vice!” Damara called and threw the portal glove. “Go, we’ll hold them off.”

Viceroy nodded and began murmuring incantation setting new coordinates for the glove, and then opened a portal, pushing Jake and Dirk inside.

The noise of the battle became distant immediately, and Jake frowned.

“Are they going to be alright?”

“Yes, you’ve seen them in action,” Viceroy replied. “But if we want to have a controlled access to Time’s powers, we have to do it without any distractions.”

“Besides, in was always a part of the plan, Damara and Meenah were supposed to act as a decoy,” Dirk added. “Although we anticipated the need for a decoy would come much later.”

He took out the detector, something that looked like a radio with too many buttons, and a head-sized hoop with wires sticking out of it, and glanced at Dirk nervously. Dirk took the hoop and locked it around his head, and turned to Jake.

“Okay, this thing will take you back the exact moment we left, but in Sandford, since it doesn’t transport in space,” Dirk locked the detector around Jake’s wrist and stepped towards Viceroy, setting something into the radio-like machine that was connected to the hoop. “Just don’t fiddle with the settings and destroy it the moment you get back, Viceroy says it could be dangerous to use in the world without fully developed magic.”

Viceroy’s knuckles were white from how tight he was holding the crook; he wasn’t looking up from the ground.

The noise of Damara’s and Meenah’s battle drew closer and closer, and he could see silhouettes of the underlings in the distance.

“Okay, that’s great, but...” Jake looked at the detector and then back at Dirk. “What about you?”

Dirk smiled softly. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine too.”

“But doesn’t the detector require contact with both people?” Jake frowned. He knew nothing about the detector, he didn’t bother to ask, but he felt something was off.

“No, it doesn’t–”

“Yes it does,” Viceroy interrupted, angry determination twisting his features. “This is going to kill him.”

“Gee, thanks, Viceroy,” Dirk rolled his eyes, while Jake tried to find words in the hollow emptiness formed inside of him.

“W-what are you talking about,” he stuttered and jerked the detector, snapping the lock open.

“ _Technically_ , it won’t kill me,” Dirk started, but Viceroy interrupted him again in a high, strained voice.

“Oh sure, it’s just going to use your soul as fuel and burn it into ashes!”

Jake dropped the detector on the ground and kicked it away, gaze travelling from Dirk to Viceroy.

“I’ve kept a secret long enough, I can’t anymore, this is really wrong!” Viceroy said in defiance, as Dirk picked the detector and threw him an accusatory glance.

“Jake, don’t be stupid, put it on.”

He took Jake’s hand, but he jerked away from the touch, staring at him with wide eyes.

“That was your plan? To kill yourself?”

Dirk rubbed his forehead.

“It’s not as bad as Viceroy makes it sound. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you, I knew you’d object. Jake, right now this is your only chance to get back, so don’t be stubborn and put the detector on.”

An explosion rang over their heads and debris rained on them; it seemed Damara’s and Meenah’s spells were so close they reached them too. On the plus side, it meant that whatever spirits inhabited Time’s area were attracted to Damara and Meenah only. Viceroy shouted “Bollocks!” and waved his crook, creating a shield that deflected most of it, but the explosion attracted more underlings that appeared out of every corner of the ruins.

Jake didn’t care.

Hurt swelled and began its rebirth into anger.

“How could you do it?” He forced out.

Dirk sighed. “Let’s discuss this calmly, okay? While you studied non-verbal magic, we didn’t waste time. We’ve studied many ways of time-travelling, and there’re only two possibilities for us: either to create a paradox that can destroy the universe and needs a source of the old magic to work anyway, the one we don’t have, or use a human soul as both fuel and paradox machine. Human souls are the most powerful things there is – you must know, you’ve studied the legend. The latter is the only choice that would work and made the most sense.”

“Oh really?” Jake yelled to be heard over the blasting noise of explosions and Viceroy’s spells around them, and to spit out the despair accumulating inside. “Please enlighten me of this wonderful sense! Because I don’t see any – and I still can’t believe you agreed to help him, Viceroy!!”

“Mr. Strider has a talent for convincing people,” Viceroy said in defiance, turning briefly.

“Mr. Strider has a talent for being a frigging idiot!!” Jake shouted, and Dirk looked at him with annoying confidence.

“To travel in our timeline we need a power source, which is either you or me,” he sounded terrifyingly calm. “Obviously it can’t be you.”

“WHY?!” Jake shouted and blasted a ghoul lashing at them without looking. “Do you want to die this badly?!”

“I have no desire to die,” Dirk said firmly. “But if I have to, I will.”

“Why?!” Jake repeated.

“I’m not going to discuss it,” Dirk said, finally catching Jake’s wrist and trying to put the detector on.

“Then I’m not going to listen to you until you give me one, just one believable reason to why this was the best plan you could conjure!”

“Because– alright, fine, because I have nothing to return to!” Dirk raised his voice as well. “Because I’ve seen my future and I don’t want to go back and become a huge asshole who kills innocent people!”

Jake pulled at his hair.

“Stop saying this! You and this universe’s Dirk Strider have nothing in common!”

“Really? Are you ready to vouch for the person I will become? Because I’m not.”

“But–” Jake began, not knowing what else to say. The words like _“I love you”_ were selfish; “You’re amazing” sounded surprisingly empty – he’s already said them so many times he doubted they could make a difference.

How does one proves another person’s self-worth to them anyway?

“Jake,” Dirk placed reassuring hands on his shoulders. “Listen to me. We are on a tight schedule, you know it, and someone needs to go back to prevent the war that will start in three weeks. It’s a fact. They won’t be able to handle the portal opening on their own, but you have all the knowledge and the power needed. Together you, Jade and Rose are going to be a sufficient team.”

“But you _are_ important,” he said helplessly and barely managed to duck when a beam of Viceroy’s spell grazed over and hit a basilisk swooping at them.

“I know where my importance lies,” Dirk said, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together in a gesture far too tender for the situation. “Don’t you see it, Jake, don’t you realize how perfect everything turns out? I don’t usually believe in fate, but here I am, the only person who can’t use magic at all, which means there is no cleaner source of old magic than me, which makes me the best possible time-travelling fuel. In addition to this, it so happens I’m expendable since nothing waits for me in both the past or the future. What’s one life against a chance to save millions?”

Suddenly he pulled Jake towards him – Jake couldn’t disentangle their fingers immediately, and Dirk locked the detector on his wrist again, so tight it nearly crashed his bones, shouting, “Viceroy, hit it!”

“Viceroy, don’t you dare!!”

“You promised to keep him safe!”

“Don’t listen to him!”

Viceroy looked between them with wild eyes and struck the ground with the crook, sending a shock-wave that flung the ghouls backwards.

“I’m not listening to either of you until you make up your minds and settle on one decision!” He frowned, listening to a distant rumble. “But you’d better do it faster, with no Damara and Meenah to attract attention Time will notice we’re here soon!”

Jake tried to break the lock on the detector, but Dirk grabbed his second hand too.

“What about Jade, what if you can’t ever see her again? You’ve been suffering here, I know you need to get home!”

“But not at the price of you dying! Goddammit, Dirk!”

Jake concentrated all of his anger and hurt into one fireball and smashed it against the detector. The bracelet sizzled and cracked, a deformed blob of metal and plastic dropping into Dirk’s hands, leaving only the screen untouched.

“What have you done...” Dirk sound dumbstruck.

“I’m tired of it, Strider, I’m tired of people making decisions for me and planning behind my back! I call the shots now, and I’m staying here!” Jake shouted, putting us much confidence in his voice as he could.

“You can’t! Think about Jade, what about her? Do you want her to be left all alone, living her life, never seeing you again and ending up eighty years old, sick in bed, ruminating on her faults, wondering what she did wrong, regretting not being able to beat Time? If, of course, she survives the war?”

This struck like a knife in the heart.

“Don’t use Jade to blackmail me!” Jake shouted, hands rolling into fists automatically, and mind searching.

The rumble grew closer, and Viceroy said, voice edged with worry, “Please hurry up!”

“I can still make it work,” Dirk said, examining the detector. “It’s practically indestructible, Rose did a great job. Tell her I said that.”

Jake patted his pockets frantically, he wanted to retrieve a picture with Jade, Bec, Dirk, and himself together, to remind Dirk that he promised to be the D in Dace Hagler – but then felt something else on the bottom on the pocket, something he managed to forget about.

A capsule with tranquillizers he hid ages ago.

“Done,” Dirk said, pulling a single wire out of the detector. It had no bracelet now, but its screen was still lit up.

Jake slipped the capsule between his fingers; it was poorly concealed, but he knew Dirk would never notice it, because he never suspected Jake to be capable of hatching clever plans or having ulterior motives.

“I suppose this is the moment when I should have my last wish,” Dirk said, flicking the melted pieces of plastic away.

Jake took a deep breath and planted his hands around his neck, receiving a startled glance.

“So what would your wish be if it was your last?”

There was a spark of suspicion in Dirk’s expression, but then another explosion rang closer, and it turned into tension.

“Jake, listen. You...” He looked like he was preparing to say something different, but then shook his head, talking fast and sharp. “You need to retrieve my journal, it’s hidden in my pillow. Everything will make sense once you read it, it has information of vital importance I managed to uncover about your–”

But before Dirk could realize anything, Jake plunged the needle into his neck.

Dirk’s eyes widened in shock and then flattered close, his body went limp and fell down.

Jake swung one of Dirk’s arms around his shoulder to carry him and turned to Viceroy, who was holding up a dome around them with a very tense expression.

“I’ve made the decision,” Jake said. “We are going back.”

For a moment pain from closing the door leading to Jade and home and safety stung him, but it was fleeting.

“I’m still angry with you for assisting him in this insanity,” he frowned at Viceroy.

“I hope you understand, our mindset differs from yours. At war, we are used to making sacrifices for the sake of the bigger picture, this belief is engraved in us since the day we are born. Mr. Strider shares the same mentality, it’s quite astounding actually, he really is a man of the future... His reasoning seemed flawless,” despite his words, Viceroy still looked guilty. “My morality, however, told me otherwise. That’s what you would’ve done if you were in my shoes.”

Jake nodded shortly, unsatisfied with his reply, but thinking he’ll have time to thrash everyone involved in this plan later.

Especially Dirk.

Viceroy waved the crook and the dome disappeared, and they both jumped when a booming voice rolled over them.

_“Who dares to walk the land of Time?”_

Jake saw the giant black cube sliding open slowly, revealing empty portal-like darkness inside.

“Crap,” Viceroy hissed and tugged the hood of the cloak lower to cover his face. “We’d better run, fast. There is no way two can fight Time.”

Jake stood frozen, terrified and mesmerized by the creature ripped straight out of nightmares appearing between the slick sides of the cube. Its size was enormous, and countless assorted eyes, jaws, horns, and bumps covered it all over the round body, along with the cracks oozing with lava that dripped on the ground, leaving sizzling craters.

“That’s... Time’s true form?” Jake whispered. “An Eldritch monster?”

“All images of monsters in the legends had to originate from somewhere. Now please, Mr. English, hurry!” Viceroy pleaded, and Jake snapped back to reality.

By the time he adjusted Dirk on his shoulder to be able to move, Viceroy has already ran about thirty metres forward, leaping over the obstructions as if he weighted nothing. After a few steps Jake made with the limp body weighting him down, he really wished he would learn to levitate himself.

Jake tried to step forward, but suddenly the world around him stopped. He managed to catch a glimpse of Viceroy’s silhouette stilled mid-jump to understand the time froze.

Dirk’s hand slipped out of his grip, and Jake found himself being lifted off the ground by a claw sprung out of Time’s body, and brought to an enormous unblinking eye the size of Jake’s entire body.

The pupil contracted, focusing on him, Jake wondered if the spirits had the ability to distinguish people’s faces.

However, Jake wasn’t in the mood for pondering these questions, and instead he wished a dagger of destructive energy into existence and plunged it into the eye.

The time resumed its flow; the spirit growled and the claw released Jake, sending him into a free-fall to the ground – he barely had time to conjure a shield that broke his fall, otherwise his insides would have turned into powder.

The hit was still pretty nasty, and Jake’s head went spinning as he scrambled to get back on his feet and grab Dirk again, struggling to keep them both up.

 _“You don’t belong here,”_ the voice boomed again, and a limb shooting downwards would’ve crashed him if it wasn’t for Viceroy’s crook sending a blade of air to cut it off.

Jake concentrated a ball of lightning in his fist, but Viceroy tugged his shoulder.

“Please, Mr. English, you can’t do anything, just run!” He begged, desperation clear in his voice, and after a moment of hesitation Jake complied.

Following Viceroy was easier than choosing his own path, seeing how he had to carry Dirk and his equipment, and he didn’t pay attention to where there were going, busy with diverting attacks and debris flying around, that’s why seeing the edges of the rock that used to be the Crystal Falls came as a complete surprise.

They were cornered.

“Jump!” Viceroy yelled, and Jake stared at him with wide eyes.

“Excuse me?!”

“Just trust me!” He slashed the air with the crook, and a stream of wind pushed Jake off the cliff, with Viceroy diving after.

Icy air hit him, freezing his insides, and the only coherent thought in Jake’s head was “This is how I’m going to die”, until he saw Viceroy doing a familiar motion with his gloved hand, and a black hole opened underneath them, sending them crashing right to Meenah’s and Damara’s feet.

Jake winced in pain, feeling every single bone in his body aching, and flipped on his back, still hesitant to release Dirk’s hand. He saw Meenah leaning over them, surprise written on her upside-down face.

One of her braids fell and slapped Jake’s face; he couldn’t lift a hand to remove it.

“Oh. I see nothing went as planned?”

“Called it,” Damara added nonchalantly.

Jake closed his eyes; they were on board with this plan, and once he would get to talk to them he was going to –

He didn’t want to finish that thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lesson of the day is: Always particitate in strategy plannings with your team, what if they think of something stupid while you're away.
> 
> Now you know why the chapter was split into two parts - there're two dying men and two wishes.  
> Originally... A lot of things were supposed to happen before Dirk's plan - a big fight with Time, etc, etc. But I cut them for the same reason I've cut many other subplots: this fic would've taken a shitton of time to write otherwise.  
> Also, I hope I managed to explain the way time-travelling works - but if you don't understand, don't worry, I'll publish a couple of simple (maybe grahic) explanations on my tumblr (s-opal.tumblr.com) once I get back home


	13. Jades And Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some things are just meant to happen in 100% of timelines.

Jake has never had to slam a fist on the table so hard the stray cups and spoons jumped.

Also he has never had to shout at someone for five minutes straight, yet here they were, everyone, including Viceroy and Dirk, gathered in the common room after they returned to the commune, with Kankri and his people looking alarmed.

Jake knew that if Jade was there, she would stare at him open-mouthed, asking him what have he done with her brother; Dirk would have had the exact same look if he wasn't too busy _daring_ to look _offended_ because Jake hadn't followed his moronic plan.

"This plan was pure perfection," Dirk remarked, rubbing the spot where tranquillizers hit and Jake threw a glare at him, gritting his teeth, hating the confident way he sounded, and hating himself for apparently never showing him his life was worthy. He knew it was his fault – he's been going on and on about reuniting with Jade, even saying he would die without her under the truth serum's influence, never realizing what the other people would gather from this.

"How could you ever think it was a good idea? You had time, and not once did you ever think that killing one person to send another in time was wrong?" He ignored Dirk in favour of continuing thrashing Meenah, Damara, and Viceroy, even though the latter got the least of it for changing his mind in the end and for looking especially guilty.

"If anyone else knew about this..." His glare travelled to the person sitting next to Meenah – Cronus, who quickly raised his hands in defiance.

"I had no idea, I swear!!" He squeaked. "Kankri, tell him I have an alibi! I can take the truth serum, we all can!"

Jake looked at Kankri, who nodded shortly, staring at him with wide dark eyes, unnaturally silent – and his shoulders slumped down.

All of a sudden, he realized that when all of these people listened to him before, it wasn't out of respect for his older self.

It was out of fear.

"I'm sorry," Jake muttered and sat down, followed by wary looks. "I shouldn't have... I'm sorry."

***

Bec's fur was dump with tears.

"I can't do anything," Jade whispered, burying her face into the dog's neck, and he whined, licking her ear and pressing closer. "I’m the worst sister ever. Why am I such a worthless moron?"

Next to her, Rose cursed loudly and threw the device she was making into the wall.

Seeing Rose, the most knowledgeable magician whom Jade was relying on to find a solution, in such a state of distress, made things even worse.

"I can't do it," Rose said, frustration seeping in her voice. "I'm not an engineer, I'm a magician who can't even do magic right!"

She clenched her fist and a glass next to her cracked.

"I'm sorry. I wish I had studied technical science with Grandpa and Grandma..." Jade said and glanced at Rose in desperation. "Are you sure you can't think of something?"

"Unfortunately, this is not my forte. If Strider was here, maybe we'd think of something together, but on my own..."

Rose looked utterly disappointed in herself, dark circles under her eyes and unkempt hair emphasizing her stress, and Jade slapped herself mentally.

She couldn't be allowed to have a breakdown, not now.

She took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes vigorously – an action that gave her a slight boost of old confidence and strength to smile.

"Alright, I will bring you Strider.”

When Rose looked at her in confusion, her smile widened. “You didn't specify which one.”

***

For Dirk, this was a failure.

He has sworn to get Jake out and he failed.

If it wasn't for Viceroy's stupid last-minute change of heart, Jake would've been reunited with Jade again, saving the world like he was meant to since the day he was born.

He should be flattered that Jake chose to save his life, and a selfish part of him has on cloud nine because of this – but he also knew that he didn't deserve it.

It had nothing to do with wanting to die, of course. However, once presented with a chance to go out in his prime, before he could make any unforgivable mistakes, he was going to take it. Because, despite whatever his demeanour was presenting, he wanted to be a saviour and not a killer.

He thought it was a resolution to his problems, the price he had to pay for being a killer in another life. What kind of resolution will there be now, what kind of punishment? He didn't understand magic, couldn't see a way out. He's missed his only foolproof chance at redemption.

Why did Viceroy have to be so moralistic.

Why did Jake have to be so kind.

Although turns out Jake had a cunning side too, to trick him with tranquillizers like this. Dirk should have been proud to see him turning into a person more suitable to lead the world into battle, but instead he felt disappointed to see this kind-hearted man inducing fear in an army of trained soldiers.

Maybe it would be best if two months ago they didn't meet at all, after all.

Maybe it was the reason they fell apart in this world.

So now all Dirk could do was submerge into engineering. He thought focusing on work would put his mind at ease, but he was ever so good at multitasking, several streams of thoughts running in his mind and never stopping.

Dirk has always loved imagining the future, predicting what part he would play there, but now the image of a person he would become was pressing his down, and he wondered if there anything at all left for him.

Jake was always with him whenever he worked, as if Dirk was a misbehaved child whose caretaker has accepted his apology, but never believed it. This made Dirk wondering if his plan really was as perfect as he imagined it to be.

He glanced sideways – luckily, the shades covering his eyes allowed him to do so discreetly – and saw Jake looking at him with sadness and worry, which made something in his chest sting.

He has screwed everything up, as always.

Dirk twisted the last wire, connecting essential elements – two containers of unexplainable magical energy – together, and turned the switch on.

"Hal?" He asked quietly, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer.

After all, simply powering up couldn't be enough to revive the artificial soul, half-spirit, half-human hybrid he created in another life. And although curiosity was burning Dirk inside like never before, he put the blank screen aside reluctantly, turning to other projects, determined to make himself useful in one way or another – but not in a way that could bring mass destruction.

***

At the same time, Dirk couldn’t help but think how this world of the future resonated with his essence a lot more than the world of the past.

***

Jake followed Dirk for the rest of the day whenever he went, whether it was the garage, trying to revive his technologies, or library, to get more information about how this age's machinery worked. In a strained silence, his own words echoed in his head, _Tie her up and lock her in the dirigible if you need to,_ but he convinced himself that it was a necessary precaution.

Now they were hanging out in the garage, sitting on a shabby sofa. Jake peeked over Dirk's shoulder to see what he was reading, but after several minutes of him not turning a page he realized Dirk was just staring at words blindly.

"I only wanted to help," he said suddenly, and Jake started.

Jake looked at him; his posture was stiff and he didn't meet his eye. He chose his next words very carefully.

"I don't need this kind of help. There must be something else we can do, we just can't see the solution yet."

Dirk finally looked at him. "But what if we can't? I'm serious. What if this is the _only_ way?"

Jake opened his mouth to answer, but Dirk raised his hand to silence him.

“No, don't answer straight away. Please, I want you to think about all the possible outcomes, including the worst case scenario: this is the only way you can return to the past.”

“Right-o, I'm thinking!” Jake huffed and made a show of furrowing his brows and bringing a finger to his chin, which earned a glare from Dirk.

While Jake was pretending to think, he accidentally started thinking for real.

He still stood by the notion that he couldn't let Dirk die, but if it was him who was to decide between saving Dirk's life and saving the world... Would it make him responsible for the fate of entire civilization?

Perhaps, he could simply put trust in Jade, Bec, and Rose to figure out the right thing without them? And Jake would live with Dirk in the future, making it their new home and helping these people to overthrow the spirit reign. Like Dirk said before, they would adapt. After all, he was even given his own toothbrush already.

“I have made up my mind,” he said firmly. If Dirk liked flawless logical justifications, he will get one.

“If we won't be able to find a way to return to the past without anybody dying, we are staying here. Jade, Bec, and Rose will handle saving the world, like you said, Jade is smart and strong. And – well, there will be others to help if they can't handle it, I think Equius, Nepeta, and your brothers won't refuse to assist.”

Dirk inspected him, as if waiting for him to shout "Syke!" any moment.

"You are saying that your solution is to stay in the future till the end of your days and never getting your old life back again."

"Don't start," Jake raised a hand. He's had enough emotional blackmailing for one day.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Jake answered, stuffing a painful idea that he might never see Jade again far away.

However, the feeling that he has just signed his sentence by resigning to this future was a lot harder to ignore – now he could _kind of_ understand Damara, Meenah, and Viceroy, who chose the smallest sacrifice possible.

So he smiled at Dirk feebly and poked him.

“I want you to stay alive, okay? We won't be able to save the world without you here, who is going to make a gizmo that'll save the day?”

“Dunno, someone who can make sense of his own work?”

“I know you can do it, I believe in you," Jake smiled at him. "And as we know, magic comes from believing.”

Dirk hummed, contemplating his words. “And here I thought real magic was the friends we made along the way.”

Jake blinked for a few seconds, before registering it as a joke.

And suddenly this was the most hilarious thing he's ever heard, and he burst out laughing, doubling over and grabbing the edges of the old sofa cushions.

(If they laugh hard enough maybe they'll forget the unfairness of their fate).

Through watery eyes, he saw Dirk's mouth twitching as he tried not to laugh, gazing at him, and Jake wasn't about to bear any stoicism coming from him.

So Jake did the most absurd thing he could think of – tackled him, pushing him against the sofa and attacking him with tickling.

(Humour is the best armour).

“That's not fair!” Dirk managed, trying to slap Jake's hands away with no avail, between laughs, a sound that made a familiar ache of longing pool in Jake's heart.

Someone's footsteps came to a halt, and they saw Kankri, wearing such a perplexed expression, it sent Jake into new fits of laughter.

Kankri looked at him as if he was seeing him for the first time.

“I do apologize, I didn't want to interrupt your… bonding session. Hmm. I'll come back later,” he slowly backed out of the garage in a crab-like way.

Jake looked at Dirk again, taking in dishevelled hair, shades knocked askew, playful smirk tugging his lips, and thought that seeing this every day could become a part of his new future, if only he could be brave enough.

After all the nights they'll spend together.

Not allowing his thoughts to trail into such an inappropriate direction, Jake climbed off him and covered his burning face under the disguise of fixing his glasses.

"Dirk, I – we need you not only because of technical stuff," Jake added, wanting to put a final word in their strange argument – because laughing it off wasn't an option, not with this subject. "You are, uh, well, you are my best friend," he finished clumsily.

Dirk tsk'ed and shook his head. “That's unfortunate. I've already tied a knot with Jade in this department, I can't cheat on her. You'll need to pick another role, if you want,” he busied himself with shaping his hair into their normal form.

“Um, y-yeah,” Jake stumbled with words and laughed awkwardly. “You mean like the bestest friend?”

“Yes, Jake, sure, you can be that,” Dirk punched his shoulder lightly. "Grammatically incorrect friend."

He picked up the books and journals Jake didn't notice falling on the floor, knelt on the floor beside the metal sphere, and shuffled through the notes.

Jake leaned over the cool metal, propping his head on the elbows, and smirked.

"The great Dirk Strider is ticklish. I'll make sure to stash this knowledge into my weapon inventory."

Dirk said nothing, just smiled at him and attached another device to the sphere; Jake slid forward to watch it light up with dozen indicators.

Later he would also have to go and scold his older self for being a part of the stupid plan, but right now his mood was far too normal to be spoiled by visiting the guy.

Actually, if Jake never saw him again, it would be too soon.

***

Jade shook her umbrella before entering the house and dried Bec's fur, wet from the rain.

"I sent the telegram," she informed Rose.

"Are you sure they will come? Did you make it sound extra urgent?"

"Well, duh," Jade kicked the boots off and threw the raincoat without caring where it would land. "I asked the guy at the post office to put in ten exclamation marks. Now let's keep going, shall we?"

She and Bec joined Rose, and for the thousandth time they began researching and trying to conjure spells they thought dealt with changing time.

Recently both of them have been glancing towards the fridge more often. It was five days after Jake's and Dirk's disappearance.

***

It was ridiculous how much Dirk couldn't understand his older self. Every time he thought he got a clue to how to activate some of his inventions, it turned out to be wrong. Jake offered to help with "magic stuff", but Dirk refused – he knew that he worked alone in this universe and thus had to rely on his brains only.

On the sixth day, Cronus brought him a frayed journal, claiming he knew a guy who knew a gal who discovered it in ruins of Halitus and was convinced it was written by Dirk.

The journal's yellowish pages were covered in strange symbols of a code Dirk hasn't invented yet, written in his handwriting.

He thought he finally received a whole-hearted gift from someone from the future, until finally, after several awkward moments of shifting from one foot to another, Cronus said, "Could you maybe ask Mr. English not to be too angry with us?"

Dirk assured him that Mr. English wasn't fond on holding any grudges.

On the seventh day, he finished the translation of the code.

On the eighth day, he finally figured out how Hal worked.

What followed was an unbearable temptation of activating him, even though the common sense screamed on a par with fear of becoming his future self.

He knew what Hal could cause, but at the same time Dirk only had his artificial soul, something that couldn't cause much harm.

Besides, the instructions of setting the level of his self-awareness and reason of existence were written in the journal clearly.

It wasn't a diary, thus a reason to why his future self pushed the settings to maximum, causing a personality overload which led to Hal receiving the ability to readjust his own purpose, wasn't written there. However, now that he had something to compare his lifestyle with, Dirk connected it to the fact that he was alone in this universe, with one new friend dead and the others scattered across the Earth.

 _That_ was something he could fix now.

"Jake?"

His friend perked up immediately, dropping the little stones he was practising levitation with, and greeted him with a usual charming smile.

Dirk was glad he was alive to see it.

"I need you to talk me out of a crazy idea."

***

The front door burst open and Jade saw Spades Slick and another member of the Midnight Crew, Diamonds Droog, holding Dane and Equius with their hands wrung behind their backs. All four looked disarrayed.

Slick aimed a swift kick at their legs to make them drop on their knees – something Jade noticed he didn't do to Rose.

"Found these two trespassing," he said shortly without releasing the two. "Both put up a fight."

"Oh no! Let them go, they are our friends!" Jade exclaimed, waving her hands frantically, and the two men complied. "Are you okay? Why didn't you tell them you are here at my request?"

"We did tell them," Dane said, standing up and shaking Droog off with one sharp motion.

"If we believed every person claiming to be your friend, Miss Harley, you house would be swarming with killers by this point," Droog said, tone ever so polite.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Jade said. "Just keep an eye on the perimeter for other unwanted guests."

"Certainly," Slick nodded. "Should we be concerned about Mr. English's absence?"

Jade's heart missed a beat.

"Not for now, no. Thank you."

After they left, Equius asked, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Long story..." Jade sighed and reached for the first aid kit – she knew the Midnight Crew has never let go of their victims easily.

***

The ninth day brought them the aforementioned unwanted guests.

Spades Slick and Diamonds Droog showed up again, holding down Eridan and Sollux by grabbing their hair, with their hands tied.

“Are those your friends as well?” Droog asked without preamble.

“No,” Jade said coldly, eyeing the two men and feeling slight satisfaction upon seeing traces of beating up the Midnight Crew has undoubtfully given them.

Eridan gave her a hateful look and asked, “What have you done with Ara?”

Droog, who was holding him, wrung his hands so that he'd shut up.

“If you are to take my advice on how to deal with them,” Droog began, but Jade interrupted, waving her hands – she knew that the Crew's approach to dealing with enemies was violence in most of the cases.

Jade threw a glance towards the group of people gathered in the common room, now turned into a laboratory, just like every other place in the house.

Rose was buried in a spellbook, barely paying attention to what's going on; Bec stood nearby, ready to leap forward and protect Jade; Equius and Dane had their heads tilted towards each other ever so slightly, which meant they were having another silent conversation consisting on series of blank expressions they somehow managed to interpret as different opinions.

All of them have been working non-stop for the past days, but still didn't go anywhere (expect for Rose and Jade getting significantly better in magic, and Equius and Dane learning the basics), and lately it seemed that they were just going in loops. Perhaps what they needed was new brains.

“How good are you at engineering?” She asked.

Both Eridan and Sollux were visibly taken aback by the question.

“We dabble,” Eridan said after they exchanged short glances.

“Good! I propose a temporary truce then, as well as a deal. You will help us make a thing, and in return we'll tell you what happened to Aradia.”

“Why on Earth will we ever help you?” Sollux scowled, and a barrel of Droog's gun pressed to his temple.

“Because if you don't do what she says, your brains will paint the walls,” he said in a tone usually used to give friendly advice.

“No, no brains, please,” Jade protested, and decided to bluff to give the pair extra motivation. “But it will help Aradia.”

The pair exchanged looks, having their own silent conversation, and finally Eridan nodded, “Fine, whatever. We agree to your terms.”

Neither Rose, nor Equius and Dane knew what happened in Halitus to full extent, that's why while they were sceptical about Eridan and Sollux joining them, they accepted them fairly well. Jade and Bec, however, couldn't put their guard down.

Eridan and Sollux were adamant about the situation, which was understandable and would be bearable if they didn't rub it in Jade's face at any chance they got.

“Are you still insisting on being the heroes in this situation?” Eridan said. “You are holding us hostage, forcing us to create devices for you at the gunpoint, when all we did was to come rescue our friend.”

“Don't try to turn yourself into a victim, we all know you started it,” Jade replied. She knew for a fact that despite what they were saying, both Eridan and Sollux were interested in this challenge of a seemingly impossible project. “You betrayed Jake and attacked us, you had this coming.”

“You are just like your grandmother,” Eridan huffed, and Jade's eyes narrowed.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“That she was a horrible person.”

“Don't you dare talk about her this way, you spirit-loving fuckass,” she hissed, hating Eridan's arrogant expression, and had to get busy with practising more spells to calm the anger outburst out. Right now she was the boss of this strange company, and it was unwise for her to split it apart.

She wondered what made Eridan hate June Harley so much, but it was probably a petty grudge or a competition issue with SkaiaNet, so she didn't ask. She was smart enough not to react to his obvious attempts at riling her up.

Jade knew she did the right thing with inviting (forcing) them to join when it was Sollux who suggested using the residual energy from the process of trapping the spirit back in its vessel as something to be sent forwards in time.

The only thing they needed now was a time machine.

On the thirteenth day, they got it.

Kind of.

It was a small device, similar to a wristwatch but with a hell a lot more buttons; and while it couldn't send things forward in time, it would allow them to pierce the parallel universes, making the energy source appear in every single one of them.

“You have to most important task, Jade,” Rose said. She looked like a ghost from the lack of sleep, just like everyone else. “You need to think of a place your brother will certainly visit in the future, the one that will stay untouched throughout the years, where the energy source can be hidden safely. Also, you need to leave a discreet sign for him, something no spirits and humans will notice.”

Jade didn't have to think hard.

“Our home, of course.”

“I'm sorry, but I doubt it will be kept whole if the spirits are to take control,” Rose's words were gentle. "You are in the midst of fighting against them, you are probably going to be their main targets."

Jade shook her head. “This is the only place of importance for him. He knows that I know it, and if he were to search for a clue, it would be here.”

“Still, I encourage you to look for other possibilities,” Rose said. “This is the most important part. If they don't get the source we'll use to pull them out, nothing will work.”

Jade sighed and nodded, giving up.

She took the time machine (that really should be called parallel transporter), a pet project of so many people, still not believing they finally did it.

“Let's not waste any time and exorcise that spirit!” She said.

***

It's been seventeen days since their arrival in the future and eleven days since The Incident, as Jake called it in his head, capital letters and all.

There was one thought constantly nagging Jake since day one, and one morning he woke up before Dirk, waiting for him to do the same, and as soon as he opened his eyes, Jake finally voiced it.

“I think we should go back to Nocteville.”

He has prepared a big speech with tons of reasoning, like the fact that he wanted to visit Meulin and thank her for helping out with magic, or that Horuss could help out with the technical stuff, since he is Equius's grandson, all to cover up the need to be home.

What he didn't expect was Dirk scrubbing a hand over his face and simply saying, “Okay. When?”

“Today,” Jake answered, “We can ask Viceroy to lend us the portal glove.”

“Something tells me he won't be too eager to part with it that easy.”

“If we ask nicely… Hmmm,” Jake lost the trail of thought, being momentarily distracted by the sight of Dirk pulling his shirt off.

In the past days, more often than not Jake thought about being bold like he proudly told his other self, and one time even managed to mumble something like “Dirk, we need to talk” before the uncertainty in this world and the fear fuelled by the fact that they didn't end up together in the future stopped him.

When Jake brought up the subject to Viceroy (the subject being travelling to Nocteville, obviously, not his attraction, to discuss which with anyone but Jade was laughable), he agreed right away.

He agreed to assist them, claiming to be glad to visit a fellow community.

They didn't need much time to pack (although, to Jake's surprise, he's acquired a lot of possessions, like mugs and toothbrushes, as well as personal magical tools), and with the help of the portal glove Viceroy was carrying the journey was mercifully short.

Jake was reluctant to go outside the dome at first: sometimes he still thought that now that Time knew they were here, it would try to crash them down, but there never were any spirits waiting for them when they went on patrols. Viceroy said that Time probably didn't deem them as a serious threat – Jake was disappointed to hear that at first, but Viceroy explained that it was actually a good thing.

"Time must have already consulted Light to see the future, and it means you will do no damage to this timeline. You will probably get out of here soon," he said.

"Or it could mean we'll just drop dead in the next few days," Dirk noted gloomily.

But nothing came, neither death, nor miraculous rescue.

They were simply suspended in uncertainty.

But Jake hoped visiting Nocteville could bring them some – he didn't care his house was destroyed or that the place changed beyond recognition, it was still home.

They didn't have a chance to look the town over the first time they visited it. The most striking difference between Nocteville and the TTT commune was how much dirtier and smaller the former was, obviously, the citizens preferred to stay inside. And while Jake thought it must have been a natural state for any town in this world, he still wanted to scold Meulin and Horuss for not taking good care of it.

Just when he thought about it, a dark figure appeared in ruins of one of the buildings.

"Hey! What are you doing outsi- Oh, hello!"

Horuss's sharp voice turned gentle when he recognized the people standing in front of him. He pulled the mask and the goggles off, revealing a wide smile.

"Sorry, thought it was one of the guys wondering off again, thinking they can handle being of patrol on their own. I was wondering what happened to you," he said, jumped down the building, with his long ponytail flapping behind gracefully, and offered all three of them a handshake. "Any progress on figuring time-travelling out? What did Tentacle Therapist say?"

"Not really," Jake sighed, and pointed at Viceroy. "You can ask Tentacle Therapist right here."

Horuss's mouth fell open.

" _No way_ ," he breathed, "You are so young! Wow, I have to be honest, you've exceeded every expectation I had about you. Now let's go off the streets, it's dangerous."

"Is it ever not?" Viceroy mused, looking over the town.

Meulin practically squealed when they got inside the house, and rushed to hug Jake.

"I knew you'd come back!" Her voice was as ecstatic as if the Christmas came early. "Did you open my letter?!"

"Yes," Jake said, prying her off gently when he felt like the hug has been going on for too long, "Thank you for training in absentia."

"No problem," she laughed. "Be sure to tell everyone in the past it was us who taught you!"

"Actually, we've prepared something, Uncle Dirk," Horuss said and handed Dirk a sealed envelope. "It's nothing much, just a note and a picture of me and Lin for Gramps and Granny."

"Just don't give it to them until Mom is born," Meulin said. "In case time shenanigans happen and accidentally become inexistent. I have no idea how nonexistence feels, but I bet it's nothing pleasant."

Dirk nodded shortly, pocketing the envelope.

They hung out at Horuss and Meulin's hideout till afternoon, listening to the stories of what happened in the commune in the past days, which were mostly the attacks they survived. Just like her brother, Meulin was amazed by Viceroy and both siblings prodded him for information on protective and offensive charms continuously. However, when Viceroy proposed to discuss an alliance, Meulin's smile became stiff and she refused politely.

Horuss and Meulin also invited them to join on daily patrol, which was pretty boring after all the things they've seen – just a bunch of ghouls in need to be blasted apart by a simple spell.

During the patrol, Jakes mind was dwelling on the desire to visit the place his house once stood, even though he knew he'd find nothing but ruins there. His older self told him that the house was destroyed four months after the beginning of the war, once the spirits found out where he lived. It was a good thing, he said, since he had to move around the world anyway, and since then he didn't have a place to hold him back anymore. He returned in Nocteville only once after that: to set up Dirk's gravestone.

That was a remark that gave Jake an irrational desire to visit the cemetery, perhaps because Jade and him had a part in creating it too: after all, they were the ones burying their grandparents, choosing the epitaphs and tombstones. At least something from their old life should stay untouched, the other Jake said so.

He couldn't explain why he wanted to see Dirk's gravestone either; was it curiosity or need for reassurance that his other self cared for him after all?

Viceroy responded with his usual creepy enthusiasm, while Horuss and Meulin said it was too personal for them to join in.

The cemetery was serene as usual, covered in fog which dissolved into nothingness after Viceroy murmured a couple of incantations.

It has grown ten times bigger since the last time Jake saw it.

It was relatively intact, save for couple of spots hit by bombs, where the pieces of broken marble laid in craters. Viceroy explained that the spirits didn't care about the cemeteries too much; if they wanted to use images of the dead, they could steal them from people's minds.

"The only people who come to the old cemeteries are necromancers," Viceroy said cheerfully, sitting on a broken tombstone. "I admit I was one of them, kept trying to bring Mom and Dad back – it was before I accepted the inevitability of death, of course. Now I use dead for safe purposes only..."

He trailed off and remained sitting while Jake found his way towards the set of stones that drew him.

The stone with the names _Jacob Harley_ and _Anna Ryer-English-Harley_ was the oldest among the five, but was still in perfect condition. The white marble was carved in an intricate way, forming twirls and floral patterns twining around words written in silver:

_"Through memories, our souls entwine,_

_Faith carried on after you die."_

Joss and June's stone was tall: Jake and Jade made it this way trying to show how much they meant to them. Below the dates of birth and death, covered by dried up flower wreaths, an epitaph was written:

_"While you are remembered, your journey never ends. You are forever missed. We are forever thankful."_

When Jake grew up he thought those were generic words that have already been written in every interpretation possible, and felt sorry he couldn't come up with something original when he was ten. It was now that he realized it didn't matter that the others wrote similar words, because the feeling of loss was all the same.

The next stone was a small slab of simple grey marble; it carried Jade's name and date of death: six days from where she was now.

Above the name, there was a tiny faded picture of Jade’s face – young, smiling, happy. Jake’s heart froze, and he pulled out the picture out of his waistcoat, the first one they took in the park of Careote, and realized that this is where the gravestone’s picture was cut out from.

Bec's small stone was close by.

So was Dirk's: there was no date on it, just the name that looked like it was carved in a hurry.

There was no epitaph on Jade's, Bec's, or Dirk's tombstones – perhaps he didn't have time to choose it.

Most likely he just couldn't find words.

"Did your grandparents choose it?" Dirk asked quietly, pointing at Anna and Jacob's epitaph.

"Yes," Jake said. "Is it important?"

"No," he answered after a brief pause. "I suppose the word soul has changed its meaning now, that's all."

"Yeah," Jake said, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat. "I suppose."

Dirk's hand wrapped around Jake's shoulders, and he held on to him like to a life buoy, without breaking the silence. And this seemed like the most natural thing to do.

The cemetery brought the special kind of serene sadness, and Jake was glad Dirk was there to share it. Seeing his, Jade's, and Bec's names didn't bring the pain he expected. This wasn't his life, and it never would be.

He reached out to fix the wreaths, but the flowers were so dry and fragile they crumbled under his fingers; dust and tiny stones fell onto the ground.

Jake picked up a rosebud carefully, intending to place it back on the stone, and another stone slid out from between the petals.

That was weird.

Dirk reached out to brush the stone from dust, revealing rough green surface.

Jake stared, wondering how it could get there, until a realization hit him like a million lighting bolts.

"Dirk. Do you know what stone this is?" He asked, barely keeping his voice calm.

"I don't know, a green one?"

Jake looked at him in triumph. "That is a _jade_."

"Inside a rose," Dirk added slowly. “You think...”

They looked at each other for a few long seconds before falling on their knees simultaneously.

Dirk felt the headstone around, but Jake knew Jade would never violate it even for the sake of delivering them a secret message from the past. He went straight to the ground behind the grave, punching a hole two metres deep, and digging out a sealed paper bag.

Both ripped the bag apart, Dirk grabbing a small glass ball wrapped in copper wires, and Jake snatching a note, feeling his heart thumping like crazy when he spotted Jade's handwriting.

_"Dear Jake and Dirk!!!_

_You found my clues, hooray!! I tried to make them as incomprehensible to the spirits and other humans as possible... Nobody would care about a funeral wreath, right?_

_Anyway, we extracted the spirit from Aradia back into the cog-wheel, and trapped the residual energy from the transformation in the glass ball, should give it all the time-y qualities we need. I hope you'll find it intact, Rose and I both agree a cemetery is the best hiding place because nobody ever cares about the dead._

_Basically you should keep it by your side at all times while we think of a way to use it to bring you two back! Yeah, we kinda don't know how to do it yet... But we are working on it!!!! Don't get discouraged, enjoy your future vacation! How many people get to experience something like this?? You are so lucky!!!_

_We also made this thing that can project this package through parallel universes (???), since you are in one... Oh god, I hope it works......_

_Good luck to both sides of time!_

_JADE AND ROSE <3"_

Jake stared at Dirk with grin that threatened to split his face apart.

"I told you we will find another way!"

"Jade, you are a genius!" Dirk said in awe. "A dead, but alive genius. Shrodinger's genius."

Jake laughed, unable to contain his feelings, and lashed out to hug Dirk so unexpectedly, his head thumped against the headstone with Jade's name. Obviously, it was a mockery; the _real_ Jade was very much alive, sending them sources of clean magic through time.

With a familiar flutter of the heart Jake felt Dirk's hands resting on his back, and allowed himself to stay like this for a while longer, with his nose pressed into the crook of Dirk's neck, inhaling the faint scent of gunpowder and machine oil, mellowing in pure joy, before calling out to Viceroy.

The man appeared nearby as soon as he heard Jake's voice, looking them over with curiosity.

Without saying anything, Jake and Dirk passed him the letter and the ball, watching his expression changing from confused to amazed to blindingly happy.

"This is it! This is the solution! Oh, Mrs. Lalonde is so smart to create a detector in such a short period of time!"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure it was Jade's idea and guidance," Jake wasn't about to let the credit go to someone else.

"Actually, I clearly see Mr. Zahhak's hand in this," Dirk added.

"Oh, it doesn't matter who was the one creating it," Viceroy waved them off. "Even though it was obviously Mrs. Lalonde. The important thing is we can work with it, it's the missing link we so desperately needed! Miss Harley doesn't know there is a deadline, so I say we don't wait until they figure something out."

Jake jumped on his feet, flicking his fingers and making the dirt fall off.

He was buzzing with excitement; finally the things were turning the right way.

Neither of them were keen on wasting time, and after popping up at Horuss and Meulin's place to bring them along to assist them, they went through portals straight to Viceroy's house.

"Code word: Rose," he said the moment they entered.

"Code word accepted," the cool voice said, and Viceroy's table slid apart, revealing a set of intricate mechanisms. He secured the ball in one of them and began probing it with thin instruments and his crook, all while chatting animatedly, his thoughts flying a mile per minute.

"A human soul is the purest form of magic, its original source. Combined with the power of self-sacrifice it truly is unstoppable. The problem is, an artificial thing like this or Mr. Strider's Hal can never possess the same properties, we'll still need a paradox as a power to help travel through time. The good news is that we don't need to visit Time now, we'll just have to find Void, collide it with the ring, trap the paradox in the similar cage, then power up the transportizer using the two, easy-peasy! Ah, I would've given my left arm to see what kind of transportizer Mrs. Lalonde has designed in your universe..." He looked up with a dreamy sigh, but then turned serious again. "However, I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous paradoxes are. The spirits avoid them for a reason, potentially they can destroy the universe, and I would never use one if it wasn't for a chance to set at least one timeline right. But at least I think I know how Mr. Strider felt when he created Hal; yes, it's dangerous, but damn do I want to try it!"

"You know, you can go with us, if you want," Jake said, a proposition coming to him surprisingly easy. "You could help us with closing the rift."

Viceroy laughed and took the ball out of the mechanisms.

"No, I can't, I have responsibilities here. These people don't have to worry about being killed every second only because I sustain the dome, I can't leave them. But thank you for the offer. I suppose there's only one sad thing, if you succeed in closing the rift it will mean the war never happens and Mrs. Lalonde never accepts me as her apprentice... Tell you what, I know it's going to be a long wait, thirty-three years, but please tell her to go in the hospital in Rima on March the third, that's when Casey – I mean, Cassandra Cage will be born," he laughed and his smile turned wistful. "I just can't imagine a universe where Mrs. Lalonde isn't my mentor."

"Right-o, we'll make sure to pass it on," Jake said.

"Where does Void reside?" Dirk asked.

"Halitus. It prefers to stay somewhere with no humans," Viceroy answered and threw the crook over his shoulder. "Alright, let's warn the team and we'll be ready to go in a couple of hours!"

As soon as the team heard about the fight they grabbed their weapons, checking the charge and practising shots, being excited about "finally getting into a huge fight to kick some spiritual ass". Jake practised with them too, mainly the spell he'd need to trap the paradox in a cage.

Simply put, the plan for the rest of the team was to evade capture and death, while ensuring Dirk and Jake could get close enough to Void.

“Remember, we are not fighting to win,” Viceroy announced, and then glanced at Dirk and Jake. “And that is certainly _not_ your fight, so just keep your head down and pretend you are not there. The spirits may not care if you leave for another timeline, but it doesn't mean they won't try to kill you.”

Then Viceroy came up to Dirk and said in a hushed tone, "I am ready to make a sacrifice."

Jake perked up at the word 'sacrifice' and moved closer to them to eavesdrop (and punch someone if needed) and saw that Viceroy gave him the portal glove.

"You decided to part with it in the end?"

"Sort of. I understand that you can't afford wasting all the time you'll need to travel from Halitus to Nocteville in your past... Which is why I would like you to combine the glove with the detector, to be able to travel in both time and space."

"I suppose it can be done," Dirk said thoughtfully. "Jake, come help."

"Me? I can't even change a lightbulb without assistance," he laughed nervously.

"Yet you know much more about magic. Now bend the universe to your will or whatever it is you do, and tell it we need to combine these two."

It wasn't easy, he couldn't just meld two objects together, which would result in a dysfunctional mess, but with Dirk sharing concepts and ideas of the devices' inner workings he could tie them together one by one.

Jake thought that it was just another thing to demonstrate that him and Dirk were perfectly compatible.

After leaving Viceroy and Dirk to give finishing touches to the glove, he took a moment to reread Jade's letter.

He did the right thing by putting his trust in her – she must have wanted him and Dirk back as much as they wanted to be back, and this thought warmed his heart. While no one was looking, Jake quickly stashed some books in his pockets, which Jade could use to learn magic from, including the books Dirk found on their first day in the future.

There was loud metal clanking and Jake saw Dirk looking critically through a pile of guns of his own design.

“Deciding on what to take home?” Jake asked.

“Yeah,” Dirk dropped a bunch of guns in a huge bag. “I left them a translation of my journals, so they'll figure some of them out of their own, but I'm taking the ones I have no idea how to work with.”

He stopped when his fingers brushed the metal sphere, too large and heavy to fit in a bag.

“Still no clue what this thing does?”

“Nope,” Dirk said. “Can't you use your magic abilities to see what it is?”

It was strange how the way he said it made it sound like he wasn't believing in magic, despite seeing proof in every corner.

“Honestly, I can't sense anything,” he confessed, after laying a hand on the cool surface that was completely blank magic-wise. “It's actually kind of weird. Kind of… Voidy.”

Dirk hummed in contemplation. “Perhaps… It's not a weapon, for once. It could be created for concealing something – alright, if I were to create a vault, how would I open it? Maybe all I have to do is wave my hands and say shazam," he stood up, stretching. "Let's see, what kind of things can identify a person? A fingerprint," he pressed a finger on top, "Blood sample," he smudged a droplet on blood, “An eye scan,” he peered into the surface, moving so close the tip on his nose touched the metal.

And then Jake leaped backwards, throwing his hands up in defense, because the sphere trembled, let out a hissing noise and slowly slid into two parts, puffs of vapor flying out.

“Hah. Can't say I actually expected this to work… Now let's see what this piece of shit was hiding,” Dirk dipped his head into the sphere, that now looked more like a bowl, and held out an old journal – the same Dirk used to write in, the one he was ready to make his last wish – and small black ring triumphantly. “Aha!”

He flipped through the journal quickly, and hid it inside his coat; the only thing Jake managed to notice that unlike the rest of Dirk's journals it was written with words, not in code.

“What's this?” Jake asked, looking at the ring, made of black stone, that Dirk dropped in his hand.

“I have no idea. You tell me, if you are so good at feeling magical vibes.”

Jake concentrated, trying to reach out and to make the ring tell him its story (maybe it was Dirk's wedding ring? The thought made his cringe). But thankfully, the ring had nothing to do with marriage, and everything to do with staying hidden, and Jake told Dirk so.

“I think you tried replicating the properties of a spirit using Void as an example, but not its essence like with Hal, just some abilities,” he took Dirk's hand and pushed the ring on his finger – and, like he expected, saw him disappear completely; after all, invisibility was Void's strongest suit. What he didn't expect was seeing himself disappear as well, but only because he was touching the ring too.

“Wow,” Dirk said, and after a moment they reappeared, and Jake saw him holding the ring between his fingers. “So destruction wasn't the only thing I created here, that's a relief. I do hope this becomes my new legacy in this world, instead of – other things.”

His gaze dropped on their hands, and Jake quickly jerked his own away.

***

It took twenty portals to get the team of ten to Halitus, which was even colder than Jake remembered, now that the tall buildings were torn down and the ocean wind didn't have any obstacles in carrying its salty moisture around.

Both Jake and Dirk were under the cover of the invisibility ring that Dirk was wearing; a bag of weaponry was dangling off his shoulder. Thankfully, Viceroy has stopped nagging them about how dangerous paradoxes are, due to not wanting to attract attention by appearing to speak to an empty space.

The island was quiet and empty, and Jake turned to Viceroy, opening his mouth to ask where they were going to find Void, but saw that Viceroy looked terrified.

"They are-" he began whispering, but as soon as his mouth opened, all hell broke loose.

The skies crumpled up like paper in a fireplace, revealing several figures, dark against pearly white clouds; however, they didn't have time to look at them, because hellish flames burst out of the ground, and Jake's heart skipped to his throat when the ground disappeared under his feet, because the shockwave from Viceroy's crook threw them aside.

“Don't break formations! Wait for my command to retreat! Mituna, with me,” Viceroy shouted, and Mituna jumped to his side. For the first time they saw him with bangs pinned up, revealing scarred, pale eyes.

"Kurloz, care to fight Mind with me?" Rufioh said, pointing at a small figure, thin and transparent like a wisp.

Kurloz signed something in return, and Rufioh laughed. "Nice!"

"Your grip grows weak, mind full of doubts, in chains of Rage that has no bounds," Meenah sang, and grabbed Damara, running towards a giant sluggish creature with a tiny head and a ton of thin short limbs and covering from the rain of acid spits in threw at them.

Cronus and Kankri paired up against a creature with a dozen sparkling wings, it didn't look like anything Jake recognized, so he guessed it was one of the spirits they haven't seen yet. He intended to keep an eye on it.

"No Space, it's always too busy and too arrogant to join little fights," Meulin, who was standing next to them, tsk'ed. "Oh well, Horuss and I will take Blood. Good luck!" She at Jake and Dirk's vague direction quickly, and rushed towards the jellyfish-like spirit with a single bloodied eye, oozing with pus from every pore.

Dirk cocked up his gun, clearly wanting to rush after them, but Jake stopped him.

"This is not our fight, remember? Our task is to get to Void," he said, checking if the glove was securely strapped to his right arm and if the Void ring was still around Dirk's neck, intending to run straight towards it.

However, the surroundings didn't agree to his bold plan, and the next moment a spitball of fire almost smashed them – Jake conjured up a shield that broke it, falling into million sparks like a beautiful firework.

He grabbed Dirk's hand and dragged him to the side.

"Just stay close, alright?"

"I can take care of myself," Dirk grumbled. "Besides, we've gotta help them, and I can't aim well with one arm."

"Don't aim then," Jake snapped, seizing his hand tighter and looking for the opening that would let them get closer to Void – a tall slim figure, so black it looked like a piece of space was cut out.

There was another small figure that seemed to stay passive, the only one that looked kind of human (if it wasn't for multiple assorted limbs) – Light, who looked like a glass statue filled with sunlight. It was hovering above the ground, observing the scene calmly, and Jake could swear it could see through their invisibility disguise, but it didn't take any action.

"Come on," Dirk tugged him right into the centre of the battlefield, and they ran in zigzags, dodging occasional blows from both enemies and friends who couldn't see them. Conjuring spells with one arm was difficult indeed, but Jake couldn't pass the opportunity to land a couple of surprise blows to the spirits. Explosions and screams rang all around them, the ground shook and its pieces rippled from under their feet, breaking the whole island apart. Dirk shot at every single thing he saw moving in their direction, simply because everything was so fast they couldn't make out what it was.

They rounded Kurloz and Rufioh, fighting against ghost-like form of Mind, and almost passed them when a tip of Mind's weightless garb touched Jake's face, ever so slightly – and that's when everything turned completely black.

It was like the whole world disappeared, everything except Dirk's hand's steady press against his; and in this emptiness all he could hear were screams, not of the team, but the ones he could only imagine, since he's never heard them – gunshots and his parents, pricking of fire and smell of ash and his grandparents calling for each other, then Jade and Bec of this universe, not having time to utter a noise before their souls left their bodies, thankfully painless, but still unjustified, then Dirk, whose courage was, in fact, an act of giving up, who went to fight Space knowing it was his final act – and his hand was slipping out –

The real world rushed in him like a breath of fresh air, and he saw Dirk standing with his sword bared, having just cut off the wispy cloth of Mind. Kurloz was standing next to him with the shield charm casted, both looking worried.

"Thanks," Jake mumbled, rubbing his forehead, the realization of where he was returning back.

"Go," Rufioh nudged them, and Dirk took his hand again.

They rounded Kankri and Cronus, and Jake took time to ask them what spirit they were fighting.

"That's Hope," Kankri answered without taking his eyes off the target, whose feathers were turning into lightning-fast daggers. "Even though I refuse to call it that due to positive inclinations the word has."

He casted a spell that crashed Hope’s wing, making it spin in the air, and that's when Jake saw a clear opening that would allow them to get to Void from its back.

Without wasting a second, Jake levitated the ring towards the Void and slipped it on its limb when he had the chance, and had the cage prepared. Dirk said he spell releasing the spirit from the ring, and as soon as he uttered the last syllable, Jake snapped the cage around the ring, before the paradox of having a spirit possess the same spirit's body could spread further.

A small cube that looked like someone cut out a piece of glowing ocean rushed back to them and Jake pushed it into a spare slot of the glove after giving Dirk the ring – right when Void attacked them, and an invisible wall crashed them down, throwing them a dozen metres away, and Rage came up from behind, pouring its acid spit on them. Thankfully, Meenah and Damara came to their aid, lifting the pressure and becoming the spirit' new targets.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Dirk groaned, and Jake saw a puddle of acid with a sizzling mess that was once a bag with Dirk' weapons. "I won’t have anything to bring back... Are you okay?"

"Yes," Jake inhaled the strong chemical smell and coughed. With all the spells that required a lot of movements, he couldn't control his fall, and landed on his shoulder really badly. He suspected it might have been either dislocated or broken. Also, he was pretty sure half of his face was bleeding.

But what's worse, when he checked the glove, he saw fall has messed up the coordinates, and he began turning wheels with soft clicks, changing the numbers determining their destination; thankfully, he was always good at remembering them. Place: 55.1547° N, 61.3758° E. Date: August the 29th, the day they left. Year... Jake hesitated.

"Viceroy, we powered the glove, you are good to go!" Dirk shouted at Viceroy and threw the invisibility ring at him (hoping it will help Viceroy to put up a better fight here). The latter gave him thumbs up and put on another glove, creating a portal and ushering everyone inside before they could get hurt.

"Good luck!" Mituna shouted, and they disappeared in the portal.

Jake snapped back to reality and spun the wheel with confidence, setting the year.

"Thank you for everything!" He called at whoever would hear, and then Dirk placed his hand on the glove and Jake hit the button.

Jake imagined that the cracking sound they heard was the walls of parallel universes resisting the push, and after rushing through nothingness with no up and down, where not even time existed, they finally stepped on the ground.

The fresh, moist smell of forest was so familiar and so different from the poisoned air of the future it made Jake's heart ache; the full moon flooded the silent trees with bright light, serene rustling leaves created magical patterns on the ground.

Their house, whole and undamaged, was a sight for sore eyes, and the silence of the nighttime forest was a cure for all the despair he’s ever experienced.

Jake's body shook as he drunk in the scene with hunger and relief of being finally safe, and he could feel his eyes watering just from the realization that he was _home_ , and at that moment nothing mattered – not the pain in his shoulder, not the blood running down his cheek... Not that he had to tell Dirk the truth.

"It must've worked," Dirk said, looking at the house, but still sounding alarmed. "You set the date to the day we left, correct? Must be a fallibility with a few hours, since we left in the morning and it's night now. Let's see if Jade is there."

Jake stopped him. "Um, about that..."

There was a sound of small feet thumping on the ground and children laughing.

"Jade, it's not fair to ask Bec to help you!" A little boy's voice called.

"What the hell," Dirk muttered, coming to a halt just as he started moving forward, careful to stay hidden behind the bushes. Jake joined him, leaning against a tree, and looked at the lawn between the house and the lake where his younger self, a boy with wild hair and giant glasses, was chasing a girl, looking tiny near a huge white dog. Bec circled around happily, holding a ball in his mouth, and threw it in the basket that stood next to a campfire.

"Yay! Another point for team Jade!" Little Jade jumped up, making her floppy shoulder-long hair fly, and little Jake laughed despite trying to look offended.

"Jade and I were six," Jake sighed, a sad smile lifting the corners of his mouth unwittingly. "Grandma and Grandpa used to take us camping, we started fires and pretended we are not home but on some far away land..."

He didn't look at Dirk because he knew what he was going to see: disapproval and unspoken words of "this is a bad idea". But he had a _time machine_ in his very hands, he just couldn't pass the opportunity to see his family alive, even for a moment.

"I'm not going to talk to them or anything," he added in defence. "I just want to look."

“We've just listened to Viceroy warning us how dangerous paradoxes are for half an hour without catching a breath. We were supposed to make one trip,” Dirk said coolly.

“It's my only chance,” Jake said helplessly. “If we just go back to the present, they will be dead there, and there’s nothing I can do...”

Besides, the world seemed unaffected by the presence of a paradox, perhaps Viceroy was merely exaggerating. At least that's what Jake told himself to calm the crippling guilt settling in his chest.

Dirk didn't say anything else, just stood with his arms folded, a scowl barely noticeable, eyes glued to the children near the bonfire.

Finally, there was a voice Jake wanted to hear the most.

"Alright, kids, settle down, time for dinner," an old woman came out of the house holding a basket. She was wearing a blue dress with polka dot pattern, her long grey hair was plaited and decorated with flowers, the round glasses reflected flickering flames.

Jake, Jade, and Bec calmed down instantly and ravished the basket.

"Cheese and crackers?" Jake's nose crinkled. "We are supposed to be on an uninhabited island, we can't have those! We have to dig around to find potatoes and coconuts, like on a real island!"

"Imagine that's a secret basket someone from the mainland sent us," Jade's words were barely comprehensible from all the crackers she stuffed in her mouth. "As a sign they'll come rescue us soon."

This explanation satisfied Jake and he joined his sister instantly.

"People from the mainland have also sent you some hot chocolate!" Their grandfather appeared, pulling a thermos out of his hat like a magician.

Jade clapped, and asked after several huge gulps, "Will you tell us a story, Grandpa?"

Both June and Joss settled down near the kids, and the latter pretended to ponder Jade's request.

"I don't even know..."

"Oh, please-please-please, Grandpa!" The twins jabbered, pouting and making their best puppy eyes.

Joss chuckled. “Alright, since you asked so much... What kind of story?"

"About a brave hero!" Jake said.

"About a dragon!" Jade said, waving her hand and knocking the thermos on the ground, spilling hot chocolate everywhere.

"Alright, it's going to be about both," he said, and June smiled at him fondly.

"Once upon a time there was a brave boy, whose land was under attack of evil dragons. The boy wanted to fight the dragons with his family and friends, but he was never allowed out of his home, and he didn't know why. He could only gaze out of the window, watching the days filled with joy or sadness pass by.

"But one day brought great grief upon the land. The dragons have burned the village where the boy lived to the ground, but he was hidden so safely that he was the only one left alive. There was no way for him to go but to travel the land in search for a new place to live.

"One day, after a long, exhausting journey, the boy came to a village where magicians lived. Upon seeing him, the old wizard, the master of all the prophecies, recognized the power hidden within the boy, of which he never knew. The boy had the dragon blood running in his veins, a phenomena appearing once in a thousand years. The wizard has never thought he would meet someone with such a gift, someone who was destined to defeat the dragons.

"The boy was very happy: this was a sign that he could fulfil his dream and become a hero that saves the land! He brandished his sword, ready to rush into battle, but the old wizard stopped him. He said he was sorry. He said that the only thing that could defeat the dragons was a spell, which key ingredient was blood of a human touched by a dragon.

"The wizard expected the boy to be sad and run away, but he only smiled wisely. He said that he would be happy to assist in any way possible, and that being a fighter didn't always mean joining the battle-front. And thus, the wizards drained the boy of his blood and used its magic to conquer the dragons, and with this heroic act the land of the humans stayed safe forever."

There was a long pause before Jade sniffled.

“Oh," he said. "That’s a sad story...”

“No, it’s not,” June replied. “Because of the boy’s bravery the land was protected, everyone called him a brave hero, and his family was very proud of him, watching him from the heavens. Everyone was happy in the end.”

Jake and Jade exchanged unsure glances, and after nibbling his lip with oversized front teeth, Jake seemed to come up with a solution.

“Tell us another one!” He asked June with renewed enthusiasm.

“Alright," she smiled. "This one is about a girl. But she wasn’t a regular girl – she was a princess! Her mother and father were very strict and they were always saying that she should act like a lady and be prepared to become a queen once they are gone. She listened, of course, she thought that her parents knew best, and always tried hard to follow principle they presented.

"Their kingdom was at war with another kingdom for two thousand years, and the king and queen said that the most important thing there was to protect their borders from the intruders. The girl grew up hating those people, who wanted to steal their food and destroy their cities, just like her parents hated them.

"But one day they didn’t come back home, and the girl became the queen. She did as she was told and continued the war, leading her kingdom into many glorious battles. However, many people have fallen victim under her command, both enemies and friends. One day she grew tired of seeing destruction everywhere, and wondered – what would happen if she talked to the other side?

"She sneaked to the other kingdom in the dead of the night, and to her surprise, the king of the other land didn't try to kill her, but welcomed her with open arms, because he wanted to talk to her peacefully. He didn’t want to be at war at all, he was only trying to do what his parents told him to as well. The king and the queen had many other things in common, and formed a powerful friendship, deciding to stop the war. And thus, peace settled across the two lands.”

"You keep telling us sad stories, Gran," Jake pouted. “Why does everyone have to die?”

"That's what we need stories for, Jake," Joss said. "All the sad things stay in our imagination, and thinking about them can help make real life happy because we can learn lessons."

"What lessons?"

“For example, do you think the girl here should be blamed?” June asked.

Little Jake was deep in thought, brows furrowing comically. “No, that’s her parents’ fault! She was only trying to please them!”

“Yes,” June ruffled his hair and sighed. “She didn’t know anything.”

The four humans and a dog proceeded to roast all the food found in the basket in the fire, laughing about stuff that seemed so meaningless at the time, but now Jake was listening to every word with insatiable hunger.

He watched them set up tents, with the grandparents doing most of the work while the kids goofed around with Bec.

Dirk still said nothing, just stood next to Jake in silence, and Jake knew that he was waiting for him to draw the line.

Which meant so far Jake hasn't crossed the line and could stay a little longer.

So, he continued listening to their conversations, vaguely recollecting them in his own memories, and waited till the family settled down in the tents and the fire went out, leaving only coals and their dim red glow.

Jake scrolled the wheels and extended the gloved hand towards Dirk.

"Just one more."

"Jake," his voice was low and wary.

"Please, Dirk, I – I really need this," Jake begged, staring at him and trying to transfer his need that couldn't be put in words. "Just one more. It's going to be my favourite memory."

Dirk seemed to understand, because he nodded and took his hand without another word.

Time whooshed around them again, and they ended up in the same spot behind the trees, but fell knee-deep in snow instantly.

It was early morning of January, a few days after New Year's celebration. The lake was frozen, and Jake saw himself and Jade attempting to stay straight on the wobbling legs wearing skates. Joss held them both by elbows; June and Bec were cheering for them from the lounge. Everyone was bubbling with contagious laughter, and Jake found it hard not to smile.

"We are eight," Jake said, drinking the scene in. It was one of his happiest memories, when he was old enough to remember things clearly and value them, but before their peace was taken away.

"I didn't know you could skate," Dirk said, watching little Jake make a first feeble circle around Joss.

"Yes, Grandpa taught us," Jake said, rubbing the patches of bare skin that were covered with goosebumps instantly. At least the cold seemed to calm down the itching pain in his bloodied cheek.

Jake on the lake tried to perform a professional spin on one skate and fell down, followed by Jade who tried to catch him. Jake in the forest laughed quietly, memorizing every detail to replay it in his mind later.

"Becquerel, what's wrong?" June asked suddenly, and they saw Bec looking right in their direction.

"Oops," Jake whispered and began setting new coordinates, and they moved through time again, to the day that changed everything.

The air smelled of spring and newly blossoming flowers, sunlight caressed everything it touched – it would be a gorgeous day if Jake didn't know what it was going to end with.

"You said _that_ was going to be the last one," Dirk said, voice calm, but a warning becoming clearer.

"I swear, this _is_ the last one! I had to be here. It's... It's April the 25 th," he said, watching June and Joss leaving the house with suitcases flung over their shoulders. "The day of their death."

Dirk didn't say a word as they moved through the woods to get a better view of the departing couple.

"We're going on some SkaiaNet business, Bec is in charge," June was saying, "Keep them out of trouble."

Bec woofed, while Jake and Jade exchanged secretive glances and giggles that they thought were subtle. Jake remembered this moment, Jade and he planned to make a giant pillow fort out of all the pillows in the house as soon as their grandparents would leave.

The twins said their goodbyes and ran back into the house, while Bec was still sitting on the lounge, gazing the backs of June and Joss walking towards the train station.

Towards their premature deaths.

With each step Jake found it harder and harder to stand still.

He had a time machine.

He could prevent it.

So when they reached the point of the road that couldn't be seen from the house, Jake broke free of Dirk's grip on his shoulder and sprinted through the forest, rounding the house, Dirk's short "You can't!" getting lost in the wind whipping in his ears.

"Stop!" He shouted, jumping on the path in front of startled June and Joss.

His chest was heaving, his shoulder hurt like hell, and he couldn't get enough air in his lungs to form words, but he noticed Joss's hand jumping to the front of his coat. No doubt, he kept a gun in the inner pocket.

"You can't... Get a train..." He managed. "The railway communication... Has been cut off. We are, uh, employees, our boss told us to warn everyone."

He pointed at himself and Dirk who caught up with him.

June eyed them suspiciously. "How did you know where we live?"

"We, um..."

But all logical processes have been stopped in Jake's head, because his Grandma and Grandpa were standing right in front of him, alive and well, not an illusion or a picture.

His eyes began getting hot and prickly, as he just stared and stared at them, and they might have sensed something, because June asked in a mix of wonder and confusion, "Who _are_ you?"

"Please don't go anywhere today," Jake said, trying to save himself some decency and keep his voice steady. "What if the train crashes?"

"That doesn't answer our question," Joss tilted his head, regarding him with growing curiosity; he must be seeing how alike they were, although his pose was still tense.

The desire to tell them was a squirming flame inside Jake's chest, but he didn't know whether it was the right thing.

"He is time-travelling grandson from the future," Dirk said, and June's and Joss's eyes widened.

"You are _Jake_?" June whispered. "Grown-up Jake?"

Jake could only nod.

She dropped the suitcase and wrapped her arms around in a tight hug, which Jake returned that instant with doubled force, ignoring the stabbing pain in his shoulder and burying his face in her dress, revelling in the contact. After a beat, Joss drew closer, hugging them both.

"What happened to you?" Joss asked, inspecting his injuries with clear concern in his eyes.

"Oh, I was in... a fight. And I might have dislocated my shoulder," he added sheepishly.

"That's easy to fix, stay still," June said, and before Jake could as much as think about what he's just heard, she steadied his back with confidence of a woman who has done it a million times and twisted his shoulder, popping it back in its place, which sent a stab of pain through Jake's nerves.

"Wow, thanks," he said, probing the skin, and was relieved to find no bump there. It was still painful to move, but much less uncomfortable.

"No problem," she waved him off. "Now, how are Jade and Becquerel?"

"Fine, they are both fine," Jake said. "We are going to meet up with them soon."

He looked June in the eyes to make sure his next words would be taken completely serious.

"The train you wanted to travel on is going to crash, you are going to die. Don't go anywhere, please."

She smiled at him so fondly Jake's breath caught up in his throat.

"You've come all the way here to warn us? That's so noble of you. You've grown up into a heroic young man, we are so proud of you," she ruffled his hair in a familiar gesture. "But you have to know that everything has its time. You shouldn't feel too sad because we died in your time, even though I'm really sorry that we did. But one way or another, this was inevitable. When you get as old as me, you'll understand."

"But how... c-can I not?" Jake sniffed.

"Think about it this way, dear. We are like flowers, the old ones go to make way for new, better ones. The ones like you," he glanced at Dirk. "And I hope you friend also falls into this category?"

"Dirk Strider," Dirk said and extended his hands for a handshake with both June and Joss. "Pleasure to meet you, I've been following your work for quite some time."

Jake's heart swelled double in size; this was everything he dreamt of, and he couldn't help but grin, noticing the crinkles of Grandma's knowing smile she sent his way.

"Strider... I don't believe I've ever heard this surname," Joss looked Dirk over critically. "What does your family do?"

Dirk's brows furrowed, and before he could answer, Jake said, "He's an engineer, just like you," feeling strangely proud.

Joss smiled in approval. "Very good. Did you invent the time machine?"

"Since you are an engineer, you must realize that science can't make a leap this huge in mere nine years," Dirk said, looking at Joss intently. "It was a matter of... _something_ _else_."

Jake understood he wanted to avoid the spirits topic, perhaps thinking it would be too shocking to comprehend.

“So how is the future looking for the human race?” June asked, tone joking.

Jake buried his face into her shoulder.

“Everyone was dead, Gran… Even Jade,” the images of the cemetery swam in his mind. “What do I even tell her?”

June stroked his back in a comforting gesture. “It's up to you to decide. But sometimes truth, as well as too much knowledge, can hurt. We should let some things stay a surprise. I think we can all agree with this.”

Jake nodded, and Dirk answered politely, “I would usually say it depends on the type of knowledge and things that are at stake.”

Joss looked at him with raised eyebrows, as if he found him extremely amusing.

“What does Jade do?” he asked.

“She wants to be a scientist, a botanist,” Jake smiled. “She tried to enter Sandford Science Centre, but they said she is too young.”

“Didn't stop me,” June laughed. “Tell her we are very proud of her too. She should pursue her dream no matter what.”

“And as for you, I bet you are a writer?” Joss asked. “You have such a talent for imagining stories.”

“Writer, traveller, a little bit of everything.”

“Knew you'd pursue this! Always chase your dreams, dear, I can't repeat this enough. This is a valuable lesson to learn that would help you a lot on your path.”

“You seem very keen on giving advices and retelling morals,” Dirk said, and Joss grinned at him.

“What can we do? We are grandparents, after all, educating the youth is in our job description. Besides, you can't understate the value of these morals.”

“True,” Dirk nodded thoughtfully and twisted the Void ring. “Valuable for everyone, from a simple wonderer to a prince of a faraway land.”

Joss grinned even harder, and it made Jake even happier than before. It would have been so great to see his grandfather and Dirk becoming friends.

“How long are you planning on staying here?” June asked.

“I don't know, we are not in a hurry… We can travel to the point we left anytime,” Jake tried to sound nonchalant, although he could feel frantic throbbing of the paradox cube seeping through his skin. “Maybe we could have dinner together? Tell Jade and me we are far-off relatives or something.”

“As much as I love this idea, I think it would be best if we part like this, memories unspoiled,” June sighed.

“Nothing can spoil my memories of you!” Jake said passionately.

Joss shook his head. “Better quit while on top, dear. Let this stay a perfect short memory. Besides, your time machine seem to act up,” he pointed at the blue cube in Jake's glove that was now pulsing with light like a rapid heartbeat.

“It's supposed to do that,” Jake said, shoving the concerns to the back of his mind, and hiding the arm behind his back so that Dirk wouldn't look at it.

However, Joss only smiled wistfully.

“Where are you going next, home?”

“I was thinking we can visit Mom and Dad,” Jake looked at Dirk, and this time, he shook his head firmly.

“No, Jake. Every time we travel in time, paradox damages the universe. And you know that changing the past simply creates an alternate timeline, your own will stay the same. You can't change your parents' fate.”

Jake sighed. “I know. But if it means some version of Jade and I will have their parents, I'm ready to roll those dice.”

He turned to June and Joss, taking in their smiling faces with underlying sorrow, crinkling green eyes, and kindness and love he knew they felt, and in a spark of inspiration took out a picture he was still carrying around in the waistcoat pocket, thinking that this was where it was always meant to end up.

“Here,” he handed it to June. “That's for you to know what we are going to grow up into.”

The couple stared at Jade in the picture, their smiles both fond and wistful.

“And I suppose… If you are going to live a long and prosper life with us in this universe, it means certain things won't happen… When I grow up, tell me to befriend Dirk Strider from Avis,” he gave Dirk an affectionate smile. “Can't risk Dace Hagler splitting up.”

Dirk tried staying serious, eyes focused on the paradox cube, but Jake read him well enough to see a hint of a smile.

June hugged Jake tightly again, saying her goodbye, and then told Dirk, “Young man, I think you deserve a hug too.”

Before Dirk could master an answer, she was already pulling him into an embrace, and he could swear he whispered something in his ear.

Joss wrapped his hands around Jake's shoulders and said, “Tell Jade we love her very much. Just like you. No matter what, we have always loved you.”

“We love you too,” Jake said, clicked the wheels to set the new coordinates and extended the gloved hand, telling Dirk, “This is going to be the last one, I promise. We are just going to save them and be on our way.”

After a few seconds he nodded shortly and laid his hand of the top of the glove; Jake threw the one last glance at his grandparents, saying, “Thank you for everything,” and received looks of great sadness mixed with great joy in answer – and then he hit the button.

The new place they ended up in was an empty alleyway of a city, and they darted to cover from possible onlookers around the corner of the buildings.

“October the 2nd, Rima, the day Mom and Dad got a divorce,” Jake announced.

“Rima?" Dirk's eyebrows shot up. "The place where Vriska found Rage, you lived here?”

“Yes,” Jake shrugged. He wasn't sure if he ever mentioned living in Rima to Dirk (he wouldn't even call it 'living', since he didn't remember it), so his surprise was justified. “Why, is it important?”

“No. Maybe,” Dirk sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don't even know what's important anymore. Honestly, I just want to spend a day without emotional turmoil and spiritual mysteries to solve.”

Jake placed a hand on his back. “I know. Me too.”

He inclined his head until his forehead was pressing to Dirk's shoulder; the motion made him wince when the dull pain in his swollen face renewed, but he didn't move away.

In reply, Dirk swung a loose hand over Jake's shoulders, careful not to touch the dislocated joint.

Right now was a perfect opportunity to say something like “I love you”. But he squeezed his eyes shut and let it pass.

“Are you sure you want to see your parents like this?” Dirk asked.

“This is the only date and place I know they are definitely going to be. And when I see the mugger that attacked them, I can stop it.”

Even though he knew these versions of Anna and Jacob weren't his, Jake knew that preventing the attack would grant him immense satisfaction.

Two voices, a man and a woman, drew closer from the main street, and with another jolt of heart, Jake recognized his parents. But unlike the pictures they saw, Anna was lacking her signature giant hat and her hair was dyed black, and Jacob has grown a beard. They differed so much that someone who hasn’t spent nineteen years staring at their portraits wouldn’t be able to recognize them.

Finally they came close enough for Jake to make out Jacob's words over the rustling of Anna'a long dress.

"-take them both. I just think it will be safer this way, since most likely they are going to target you first."

"Jacob, we've discussed this a million times... If anyone is in danger, it's you, with your blood,” there was a brief pause and her tone changed from slightly irritated to concerned. “You know… Maybe we should reconsider our arrangement. Maybe I should take both Jake and Jade, they'll fit right in with Bryan's twins, they are only a few years younger. My people in Felt will testify that he and I never got a divorce and that he's always had four kids instead of two, it'll be no problem. They are very trustworthy."

Jacob huffed. "Right, Bryan..."

Anna stopped and faced him. "Don't be silly, I still love you," she said seriously. "It doesn't change anything. Bryan is just an asset, he may become my fake husband, but you will always stay my real husband at heart."

Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Yes, sure, everything will stay exactly the same, I will just have to pretend I don't know you, and our kids will never know each other," he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Sorry, I didn't want our last day together to be like this."

"It's okay, I know how it feels. I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier," Anna murmured and kissed him, and in the meantime Jake stood with open mouth, digesting the information he has just heard.

Mom and Dad never wanted to get a divorce, which was great, but the rest… Mom was getting a fake husband? They were planning to split Jake and Jade apart to save them? Save from what?

What the hell was going on?

...If they died, does it mean they didn't succeed? Were Jade and he still in danger of something?

At the same time he kept his senses keen on spotting the attacker, but there was no sign of a person anywhere, just an empty street – almost unnaturally so.

He looked at Dirk and mouthed, "Do you understand anything?"

Dirk's look was calculating, as if the most curious riddle was presented to him.

"Alright, let's go," Anna said when they finally broke apart. "For the kids' sake."

"For the kids' sake," Jacob repeated.

And then a bullet whizzed, piercing the air, and Anna's limp lifeless body fell with a clean hole right in the centre of her forehead, her arms spread in an almost graceful manner.

"ANNA!" Jacob shouted, and Jake echoed, "MOM!"

He dashed towards the man clutching a body in his arms, but Dirk grabbed him from behind and held him in place, right at the moment the second bullet hit his father's temple soundlessly.

Jake was paralysed, his brain screaming incomprehensible jibberish; he also wanted to run to his parents and see what he could do – but Dirk reached out and slammed the button on the glove – and the last thing Jake knew before they escaped from this timeline was a rain of concrete powder that showered him when another bullet hit the wall over his head.

It was as if the bodies suddenly disappeared, and only after a moment Jake realized that they simply returned to the point they started in, since nobody changed the coordinates.

"Definitely a sniper," Dirk said, and Jake joined him in looking through the surroundings, the images of his dead parents still clear before his eyes.

This wasn't what it should have been like.

It should have been a mugger, and Jake was supposed to knock their lights out and save his parents.

"We'll just have to catch them before they enter the street..." Jake realized his voice was shaking.

At the same time they heard voices drawing near again, and Jacob saying _"Take them both."_

"You go out there, you're dead. And I won't be able to go back in time to save you," Dirk said seriously. "We haven't been killed yet, meaning they don't have coverage for this alleyway, meaning they must be situated over there," he peeked around the corner and pointed at a building.

"Alright, we'll have to go back a couple of hours, before the sniper settled in," Jake punched in new time: two hours prior.

"Jake, you are about to make the sixth trip in time when we were supposed to make one," Dirk warned.

"But I have to find out who killed them!" Jake was desperate. "I thought – I thought you supported me."

Dirk sighed. "Of course I support you, as much as I support the idea of the universe not being torn in half and us not being shot by snipers."

Jake stared at him for a long time, the universe on the one hand, and his parents on the other – but the universe was such an incorporeal word, and Anna and Jacob were right here, and the chance to save two human lives was real.

The parents were silent, which meant they were kissing again, so Jake peeked out of the corner and shouted at them, "Run, they'll kill you!", ducking back as the bullet hit the wall where his head was a moment ago.

This gave the couple time to scatter and zigzag towards the alleyway, where Jake pulled them to hide behind the dumpster.

“Thanks,” Anna muttered, and both of them pulled out guns, loading them with bullets, surprisingly unruffled about the situation, expect for slight frowns and expressions of exasperation.

“Who was that?” Jake asked, torn between wanting to look at them forever and being aware of his surroundings.

“People who think they can control our lives,” Jacob said, glancing at him briefly.

He loaded the gun, but stopped observing the surroundings, having to do a double-take on Jake.

“Have we met before?” His dark green eyes, the exact same colour as Jake's, narrowed in suspicion.

Anna tilted her head, and off-handedly Jake noted how drastically different she was in appearance, with grey eyes, white skin, and natural blond hair colour making its way through the black dye.

“Yes, you kind of look like a Ha-”

A bullet bursting through her skull didn't let her finish.

“ANNA!” Jacob screamed, and crimson red streams coloured his trembling hands.

Dirk tackled Jake, throwing him on the ground and rolling over to cover him from the rain of debris spattering the ground when the bullet missed them.

Jake's instinct was to tug on magic to summon a shield, but there was no magic in this universe. It was like missing a step on a staircase, his hand slipped; another bullet hit Jacob's forehead, and he fell, eyes wide open, and a steady stream of blood running out of the wound.

Jake didn't even notice Dirk pushing the button on the glove; the surroundings changed again, but he continued staring at one point with unseeing eyes.

This time it felt less like smooth transition and more like a bumpy ride; the time all but spat them out, unhappy with the abuse they inflicted on it.

“Come on, it's no use to stay here. Jade awaits,” Dirk patted him on the back, and Jake snapped back to reality.

“No, no way!” His eyes burnt, and he blinked fast to make it pass. “We are two hours in the past, we can, um, go there, intercept, and warn them...”

He strolled towards the opposite end of the street, having no concrete plan, but he'd be damned if he didn't stop it.

The street was empty, and now he knew why – the sniper has probably made sure there was no one around. If so, their appearance would be truly unexpected.

Jake craned his neck, looking at the rooftop of the tallest building.

“We can go inside and disarm the sniper,” he said, and jogged to the back entrance without waiting for a response, knowing that he would still go, even if Dirk refused – and still was relieved when he heard footsteps following him.

But when they got to the roof, all Jake found was an abandoned rifle and a backpack. The sniper must have heard them outside and got away already.

"Dammit," he hissed, kicking the rifle. It fell over, revealing a too familiar sign brandished into its surface.

SkaiaNet logo.

“Traitors!” Jake gasped, and Dirk frowned.

Treachery was the worst crime he could imagine, and to think it was one of the people Grandma and Grandpa trusted, someone of their own employees… It was sickening.

“Mom and Dad, they must have known it,” Jake continued, everything becoming clear in a single moment of revelation. Of course Grandpa and Grandma lied about the reason of their deaths, anyone who was ashamed of their own employees would... “That's why they wanted to hide us, they were afraid SkaiaNet spies would come after us as well!”

Dirk didn't look convinced, but didn't protest either.

“We have to go back again and tell Gran-” Jake began, but Dirk silenced him.

“No. We've travelled enough. The time starts ripping, I know you felt it too. We spooked the sniper, thus, these versions of your parents survive,” he pointed at the figures far away, walking a busy street at the moment; although the way they merged with the crowd made them almost unrecognizable. “You should be satisfied.”

“I know,” Jake muttered and kicked the rifle off the edge of the roof, watching in smash into the ground. He wasn't satisfied at all.

He retrieved binoculars left by the sniper and observed his parents. They were still sitting on the bench among people hurrying in different directions, and suddenly Jake spotted a figure in a plain black suit moving in the alleyway they were hiding in earlier.

Jake tugged Dirk's sleeve and pointed at the person, who took out a flash light and began turning it on and off.

"Compromised. Move to plan B," Dirk muttered, and after spotting Jake's confused glance, explained, "It's in Morse."

They looked forwards, expecting to see a reply, but all that came were screams from the people in the street when Anna and Jacob were shot once more, with an utmost precision.

"Shit!!" Jake exclaimed, grabbing his hair in despair, and Dirk had to drag him from the edge of the roof so that the sniper couldn't hit them. "We have to go back!"

"Jake-"

"Just one more time, please, I promise this time I'll do everything right!"

He punched in new coordinates, throwing his hand sharply for Dirk to hold, but Dirk folded his arms on his chest.

"No," Dirk said firmly. "That's enough."

Jake glared at him (the paradox throbbed painfully against his skin, sending a warning, which he ignored), barely resisting calling him a traitor as well.

"Fine, I'll go alone then!"

His finger was hovering a millimetre from the button when Dirk said, "You do realize that if you leave now I'm stuck here forever? One timeline – one trip, remember?"

Jake's gaze lifted in horror, and his hand fell limp by his side.

"I'm sorry, I was too caught up in– I forgot, I'm sorry. Oh course I would never abandon you," he looked at Dirk pleadingly. "But I can't abandon them either, they are my parents... I don't want them to die those horrible deaths. Please, I need to help them. This time we'll get hours in advance and we'll set everything right," he extended a hand in a more calm gesture, without breaking eye contact.

A sigh of a person resigned to his fate escaped Dirk's lips, and he touched the glove, saying, "The last one."

After being shaken and chewed by wailing, protesting time, they landed on the street full of tiny shops, young trees, and people whose hands were stuffed with bags of freshly bought nonsense. Anna and Jacob have just sat on the bench exchanging words Jake couldn't hear, and he quickly took the remaining space on the bench, trying to seem inconspicuous, while Dirk remained standing nearby.

"Excuse me, Mom? I mean Ma'am?" Jake said quietly, attracting Anna's attention.

"Wanted to know something, sir?" His father asked, swinging an arm over her shoulders in a possessive gesture. He peeked from behind Anna, beginnings of realization dawning on him. For him, it probably was like looking at his younger self.

Anna simply inspected Jake's glove with immense curiosity.

"Yes, I, um..." He turned to Dirk for support, but he was gazing in the distance, pointedly not taking part in the conversation. "I have some bad news for you, I overheard someone saying they want to kill you."

Judging by their expressions, they didn't believe him.

"That's a pretty big accusation to throw on someone," Anna arched one delicate eyebrow. "Do you have proof?"

And Jacob said, squinting at him, "Are we, by any chance, related?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "That's his way of asking if you are his long-lost twin brother."

"You have a twin brother?!" Jake exclaimed.

"No, but if I did, he'd look exactly like you," Jacob's serious expression didn't falter. "Who _are_ you?"

"You won't believe the truth," Jake sighed. "But listen... There was a man in a black suit, carrying a rifle with the SkaiaNet logo. He is after you. And even if you don't believe my warning, still, go back to where you came from, maybe leave Rima altogether. If I'm wrong, you are just going to have a day-off, but if I'm right, this will save your lives."

His parents looked at each other, having a wordless conversation, and finally stood up.

"It sounds like a trick," Anna said, looking him over with suspicion.

"But we will choose to believe you," Jacob finished, stroking the inner pocket of his jacket where a gun was kept. "Don't think that if you've set a trap for us we are going to walk into it bare-handed."

"But if it's not a trap, thank you for the warning," Anna said, inspecting the surroundings, but seemingly unable to find anything unsettling.

They strolled up the street, and Jake tugged Dirk's sleeve to suggest they follow them to ensure they get home safely, even though with the route they chose – a crowded street – it was unlikely that the sniper would be bold enough to attack them, even if he was already there.

And then a gunshot rang, and Anna fell in pool of dark blood that was spreading on the pavement.

Someone screamed and Jake shut his eyes. He knew what would come next and he couldn't bear seeing it again.

The next moment someone yelled, "Oh my god, find a doctor!!" and a sound of another body hitting the ground rang louder than any gunshot.

The screams rang in his ears, mixing with thumping frantic pulse and paradox beating like a second heart. It was harder to breath with each second, and his whole body shook, and Jake felt like his knees could give in any moment.

He failed again.

He had to see them die.

Again.

He was spun around and felt Dirk's hands cupping his face.

"Jake, look at me."

Jake managed to pry his eyes open and peer at Dirk; his steady gaze and firm grip acting like an anchor in a storm.

"You have to let it go."

"I can't, I have to set it right..."

He knew he was in pathetic state right now, with ragged shallow breaths and trembling lips and eyes that were prickling but didn't seem to find any tears to shed.

"Jake, leave it. You can't change your own time, you've tried changing this, so what's the point in rewatching it over and over?"

This brought an unexpected flash of anger – how could he not understand how _damn important_ it was?

"I can't leave them, they are my parents! I have to do this, I have a time machine, I can't give up!"

“Why risk your own life to save something that won't even be your timeline?” Dirk asked stubbornly.

“Because it's the right thing to do! Even Viceroy knew it, he gave us the glove to save our timeline despite it having no effect on him! All people of the future knew it.”

 _Why don’t you_ , he wanted to add.

“Horuss and Meulin didn't. They didn't give us their glove, remember? Because they could calculate risks and make the most efficient choice. Actually, I think I'm going to accept their proposal to become my niece and nephew...” Dirk sighed, while Jake watched him, frowning, his words doing nothing to ease the anger and irritation he felt. "Jake, your resolve is honourary, but is it's just like necromancy Viceroy told us about, a vicious circle you have to get out of-"

"Necromancy isn't real! But this – this _is_ real," Jake wanted to shake him – he waited for any spark of recognition, but Dirk was just as incapable of understanding familial relationships as ever. "I bet if it was _your_ mother's life at stake, you'd be singing a different tune!"

He grabbed Dirk's hand firmly, clicking the wheels of the glove – time groaned around them, whipping and thrashing, and spit them out in a new location.

"There!" Jake pointed in a vague direction of the forest they were standing in. "This is your birthplace! Maybe now you will understand!"

Dirk groaned even harder than the time and made a show of smashing his head into a tree.

"For fuck's sake, _why_?! You are not supposed to waste time-travelling on pointless shit! This place is on a par with bubonic fucking plague in the pleasantness department. Once we go back we are destroying this damn time machine."

Jake strolled purposefully to the direction where he heard voices. Even through all the pain and resentment he couldn't suppress a spark of curiosity towards a place Dirk spent his childhood in.

"Now you can save your mother's life!"

"No, I _can't_. If this is the same date as in Rima, it means I must be three years old now, and she doesn't have the drinking problem yet," he thought for a moment. "Actually, I think it's about time her partner left her for good."

"There you go, you are going to see your father, that's neat," Jake suggested, his own father's face appearing in his mind – so happy in the photos, so blank against the cold pavement.

"I suppose that can be good in some ways..." Dirk's lips tugged in a smile that could only be described as predatory. "I've changed my mind, let's go pay the commune a visit."

They entered a village with a narrow main street and assorted tiny houses that looked quite shabby, but mostly kempt and surrounded by various gardens with rich colourful flowerbeds.

However, there were little to no people in the streets, save for occasional kids playing chase or fighting with sticks, and adults carrying instruments to work in the field.

Dirk's target was a young man, sitting on a porch of a house and gazing in the distance with unfocused eyes. He would be quite handsome, if it wasn't for his clear inebriation; the bright orange eyes were faded, and the blond hair didn’t seem to be washed for at least a week.

“Hey, asshole!” Dirk called from afar, and without stopping for a moment, crossed the distance between them and pummelled a fist into his face.

The impact sent the man collapsing on the ground, and he winced in pain, pressing a hand over his bloodied mouth.

“What’s your problem, man?” He mumbled through swollen lips, popping tiny bubbles of blood. “I don't even know you! Whatever y're accusin' me of, I'm innocent!”

“That's for leaving my mother,” Dirk deadpanned, wiping the blood off his knuckles.

“Your _mother_?!” The man looked him over. “But y're like, twenty! When did I manage to knock your Mom up?”

Dirk gave him a look of such intense hatred, it was surprising that the man didn’t collapse on the spot.

“Here’s a piece of advice for you,” he said. “Give all your property to Dana Strider and beg her forgiveness for the rest of your days.”

“Forgiveness? For what?” The man whined. “I’ve never done anythin’ to upset her!”

Dirk smashed a heel of his boot into his nose; the bone broke with an unpleasant crunch.

“You were right,” he told Jake, who watched him in shock, “Travelling in time does feel good.”

Before Jake could come up with an answer, someone screamed, “Good lord, look at the sky!!”

Everyone's eyes turned upwards instantly. They saw a crack splitting the sky apart, as if it was made of glass, with darkness seeping from it; the same impermeable kind the portals were made of.

Jake and Dirk exchanged glances, and Jake gulped, cursing himself for not listening to distraught beating of the paradox and Dirk's warnings. At least the crack didn't seem to be widening and just hang ominously at the sky.

“The end is nigh! Dana, come inside this instant!” An old man yelled, peeking out of a blacksmith's workshop, and quickly pushed a pregnant woman standing nearby inside.

“This is god's work!” She squeaked, voice terrified, and wrung her thin hands. "He came to punish us for our sins, and all of us are going to die in fiery flames of hell!!"

The man on the ground widened his eyes, looking at Dirk, and spit out some blood, mumbling, “Are you a god?"

“Yes, and by pointing a finger of mine I banish thy pathetic ass into nought,” he brushed him off, turning to Jake. “We'd better go now.”

Jake nodded fervently – the crack brought sudden awareness of what _exactly_ they were dealing with – and began setting correct coordinates, when he heard a new voice.

“Hey, who's beaten up our father?”

He saw two boys, too tall and lanky for their age, who would've been absolutely identical if it wasn't for the age difference. Seeing the orange colour of the eyes he memorized better than the patterns of the map, Jake recognized Dirk and Dane immediately.

“I did,” Dirk said.

“Cool,” Dane noted, while child Dirk crinkled his nose at the sight of blood; neither of them showed any indication of wanting to help.

Jake inspected him with unbearable excitement, taking in weird haircut, which he knew present day Dirk would hate. He seemed tiny, especially in oversized linen clothes clearly inherited from his brother. He seemed timid and looked at Dane, who had a hand lying on his shoulder, for reassurance before speaking.

“Is this really the end of the world?” Little Dirk asked.

“No,” Dirk said. “You are just going to have this cool addition to the sun and stars.”

“Have we met before?” Dane asked. His voice bore adult-like confidence despite him being barely ten, but his hand tightened around Dirk's shoulder, ready to push him away any time.

Jake couldn't resist grinning at the kid, amazing by how small he was compared to his adult version. He would probably pinch his cheek if it wasn't for the realization that Dane would cut him if he made the wrong move on his little brother.

So he simply bent down, and said, “Hello there, Dirk!”

The kid looked taken aback, and Dane jumped to his defence instantly.

“How do you know his name?” His voice was surprisingly commanding.

“Uh,” Jake hesitated and glanced at Dirk, who didn't pay any attention to him, instead focusing on the kids. “Lucky guess?”

“I don't believe it. You are weird and you came from nowhere, and you are the reason our sky is like this!!”

His voice got higher and higher, and the final words were heard by the people gathered outside. They tore their gazes from the crack, and looked at Dirk and Jake.

“They are not from the commune!” One woman yelled. “They must have brought this thing here!”

The first two people who attacked Jake were easy to shake off with the help of a couple of punches, but then a huge furious man tackled him, and Jake felt all the air from his lungs being squeezed out. His face was crashed into the ground and renewed bleeding, and his shoulder burst with pain again.

Just when Jake thought his ribcage wouldn't be able to hold the pressure any longer, the man cried out and released him – and through watering eyes Jake saw that Dirk was twisting the man's hand behind his back, the bared sword in another. His fury was so apparent and scary that no one else dared to come closer.

"Are you just going to gape or are you going to kick him like I know you want?" Dirk said to his wide-eyes younger self, while Jake frantically checked if the coordinates were still correct.

Dane grabbed the kid, lifting him off the ground, and took a few steps towards the blacksmith's place.

"Stay away from my brother, you creep!" He said in a high-pitched voice, while little Dirk muttered something like, "But I do want to kick him."

"Let's go," Jake said, and Dirk outstretched a hand, but just when their fingers touched and he was about to push the button, a woman roared, "Don't let them get away!!" and the man's fist collided with his jaw, which at the moment seemed like the single most painful experience in his life.

Jake's finger slipped on the wheel of coordinates, scrolling it backwards, but he managed to gather the remains of his consciousness to concentrate on grasping Dirk's hand tighter; and through the windmill of time they ended up in Nocteville again.

"Did he break anything?" Dirk asked with great concern, not paying attention to their surroundings and instead cradling Jake's face in his hands, looking him over. "I told you visiting Torpos was a waste of time, all people are assholes there, including myself."

Jake barely stiffened a groan when Dirk's fingertips ghosted over his skin that felt like one gigantic bruise.

"I don't think anything's broken," Jake said, aware that the words came out muffled. The gross iron taste of blood made him want to puke.

He lifted the gloved hand to look at the paradox cube; its pulsation became so uneven and abrupt, his whole arm shook.

And then a terrifying, deafening _crack_ reverberated through every cell of their bodies, and they saw the skies split in half with a thin gap. Tiny fractures were spreading from it, getting lost in the horizon.

“Jake, Dirk! What the hell is that?!” They saw Jade running towards them. Jake's first notion was to meet her half-way and hug her in pure bliss of returning home, but then he spotted the numbers on the glove.

“That's not our Jade,” he said to Dirk, not even trying to contain the misery; and Dirk's face fell when he saw the time coordinates: the day they arrived in Nocteville after the dirigible crashed. The dirigible was right next to them, half of it dismantled, and Jake spotted another Dirk climbing out of it to take a good look at the crack.

“Do you think it's like… new daytime fireworks?” Jade asked, sounding confused. “Jake, _oh my god_ , what happened to your face?! And what are you wearing?”

She pointed at the glove which was lit with alarming blue light, sparks from the cube running over its surface, and that's when the other Dirk spotted them. He whipped out his sword immediately.

“What are _you_ doing here,” he said, restrained anger seeping through every syllable, and swung the sword at his counterpart.

Dirk blocked it with his own sword, but just as two blades collided, one of the fractures cracked and rushed to the ground, cutting in so deep nobody could see its end. The ground shook and two Dirks were thrown away from each other, stumbling backwards, but regaining balance in fascinatingly mirrored moves.

“Jade, where are you, there was an earthquake!” Another voice joined them.

It was so surreal to hear his own voice, and even more surreal to see himself; not old or young, but the exact same face Jake saw in the mirror every day.

Jade looked from one set of her friends to another to back at the crack in utter confusion, and Bec, who ran after Jake, seemed to feel the same.

The other Jake blinked rapidly and stared at Jade as if she could give him all the answers.

The other Dirk inspected his other self carefully, brows furrowing.

“You are not Dane,” he stated. “Who are you?”

“I am you from two months in the future,” Dirk said, unbuttoning his shirt, baring his chest, and pointing at a few dark spots. “See, same birthmarks and scars. Also, remember Lil Cal?”

It must have been a code phrase, because the other Dirk gave a tentative nod and lowered his sword, even though his expression was still suspecting.

Meanwhile, the twins attacked Jake, who was eyeing the two Dirks with immense curiosity and wonder, with questions.

“Time-travelling is real?!”

“What's the future like?”

“Where is Jade?”

“And where is Bec?”

“ _Time-travelling_?!”

“Do you know what those cracks are?”

"What did you do?!"

"Hold your horses," Jake chuckled, surprised at his own enthusiasm directed at him. "Jade is fine, she's at home with Bec."

Jade huffed. "Lame, what am I doing there, sitting out all the fun stuff?"

Jake winced at the word “fun”.

"It was an accident, when we got transported into the future," Dirk answered, peeking into the crack.

It wasn't hot or cold, didn't emanate anything, it could only be described as pure nothingness.

To test it, Dirk threw a small stone inside; the darkness swallowed it without a trace.

"So, what I'm like in the future?" The other Jake asked. "Did I ever finish writing that story about Avis?"

Jake nearly snorted. Worries of their past selves seemed so insignificant now.

Dirk and he told an abridged version of the deal with the spirits, avoiding mentioning any personal things, thinking that these Jake, Jade, and Dirk would be better off experiencing them without spoilers. The only thing Jake mentioned was the fact that they shouldn't worry and even if everything would seem hopeless, they'll still be alright. This statement was mostly directed at himself; Jake didn't want him to go into the miserable day Eridan and Aradia's betrayal brought unprepared.

In the meantime he observed himself, spotting things he never noticed about himself, like the way he bounced subconsciously in excitement when hearing that the Legend of Twelve Spirits was true, or how even back then he seemed to glance at Dirk every minute. How Dirk managed to stay oblivious to such blatant interest was beyond Jake's comprehension, although he knew it was for the best.

"I suppose what we can offer you now is a choice," Dirk said after they finished. "If you go to the Crystal Falls, you are going to see the world from a completely different perspective," he looked at himself. "And you are going to get a chance to save the world ad becoming worthy of something."

"However," Jake continued, "Some of your experiences are going to be unpleasant, painful even. If you avoid the Falls, you will live a regular life as regular good friends."

Jake sent Dirk a quick smile; he's never imagined he'd become a wise tutor for young heroes.

“Will we... you... really save the world?” Jade asked.

“I don't know, it's a work in progress. World is a tough thing to save,” Dirk shrugged.

The crack widened and shot out a new fracture that spread like a crooked root and went inside the forest, slicing the trees in half. However, they didn't fall but continued to stand there, as if they were merely a drawing ripped apart.

Another piece of space cracked, barely avoiding hitting Bec, and Jade asked, shivering in worry and fear, "What happens if it touches us?"

"No idea," Jake confessed, eyeing the crack warily. "But nothing good, I reckon."

He tried resetting the coordinates on the glove, but a sharp jab of electricity made him jerk the hand away, and suddenly wearing the glove became unbearably painful, every nerve screamed in agony as the paradox's light seemed to penetrate his skin.

Jake scrambled with the straps tying the glove to his hand, trying his hardest to concentrate and keep his shaking fingers still, but rapid seizures overtook every single one of his muscles – and then Dirk simply ripped the cube out of the glove.

The relief was instantaneous, and Jake exhaled, rubbing the tensed muscles of the hand. The sparks stopped running on the glove, but the steady light of the magic source went out too, deeming the glove useless.

The blue cube pulsed like a racing heartbeat, and another crack struck the ground, extending towards the dirigible and piercing one of the engines.

"Oh come on, I've just fixed that one," the other Dirk muttered.

"Crap, do something, future people!" Jade yelled, and jumped out of the way of a new crack.

"Jake, can you contain the paradox?" Dirk asked, and Jake tried summoning the cage, but all he could make was the faint outlines that disappeared the next second.

"There isn't enough magic here," Jake said, looking at Dirk with pleading eyes. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, I shouldn't have made all those detours just for the sake of-"

A crack almost struck them; the ground shook and broke apart right where the lake was.

The other Jake yelped and dodged a hairline fracture appearing dangerously close to his head, while the other cracks widened and slowly crawled in every direction, connecting with each other and merging into bigger ones.

"Didn't you say that portal glove has a source of magic that powers it?" The other Dirk pointed out.

"Oh shoot, Dirk, you're a genius! I mean, you both are," Jake glanced at his companion, smiling nervously, and dipped an imaginary hand into the ball, scooping enough energy to feel the familiar pleasant tingling on the fingertips that practically pleaded him to shape it into something.

In a swift motion he created the cage around the paradox, mending it with the existing cube to reinforce it, and thankfully, the new cracks seemed to stop appearing – however, it was too late.

Three smaller fractures connected right next to them, and a triangle of space broke off, disappearing into the void, leaving a huge and menacing hole.

The three past humans and Bec took a step back, and Jake asked, "I don't suppose you future people can mend space?"

Jake tried, but under the pressure of magic the space became more fragile and shattered, fracturing the environment everywhere.

"Shit," Dirk said, and Jake whole-heartedly agreed with him when they had to do a crazy dance of jumping around to avoid being touched by multiple tiny cracks appearing everywhere, accompanied by panicked yells of the past trio, asking them to _do something_ – if only they knew what could be done.

There seemed to be no untouched space left, there was more black than blue in the sky, and Jake couldn't release the paradox in fear of breaking everything even further, which meant he couldn't activate the glove, so he grabbed the ball hoping to reach the magic within.

The largest crack they've seen shot next to them, so huge they couldn't see or hear their past counterparts anymore; it broke the world, cutting the other part off completely.

Now the only world that existed was behind them, and there was nothing but gaping void in front.

The only place to go was backwards, but as soon as they took a step back, another giant crack cut the rest of the world off, and, acting on instinct, Jake created a protective bubble around Dirk and himself.

It wasn't the same as doing spells in the future, the shield was weak and wobbled in unstable space, but at least it prevented the tiny island under their feet from breaking.

Other cracks moved closer behind them, ripping of pieces of ground underneath their feet, and soon they were standing at the edge of the universe on a tiny island of the remaining ground.

Jake was horrified of the prospect of the pending death, but also couldn't help but be strangely fascinated by the vast abyss in front of them where he imagined impossible omnipotent creatures living.

Dirk wrapped a hand around Jake's fist holding the ball.

"You know, I'm awfully curious what would happen if we step in there," his voice was calm and his hand was steady – but Jake knew it was merely a manifestation of support that didn't reveal his true feelings.

Dirk was calm in the eye of the storm once again; but if it wasn't for Jake, there would be no storm to begin with, Jake thought miserably.

“Dirk, I – I'm so sorry,” Jake said, moving close both because the island of land was becoming tiny very fast, held together only by the bubble, and because this is where he wanted to be when the world was falling apart.

Half-heartedly, he expected Dirk to say that everything was alright, and the end justified the means; but he didn't say a word, just rubbed a thumb over his knuckles.

However, Jake knew his attempts weren't a waste of time, he was doing something worthy and the only thing he regretted was his inability to save Mom and Dad.

He couldn't keep up the protective bubble anymore, and it popped open, getting rid of the last feeble means of protection. Their island shook and cracked, forcing them to practically stand on each other's feet, and space around them wailed with instability, and Jake couldn't stop shivering every time his eyes fell onto vast nothingness that gaped at them invitingly – and seeing how there was only nothingness around themm, it happened very often.

Okay, Jake regretted ending up like this too.

He has never thought this was what death would be like.

Dirk watching him intently, as if searching for something, and suddenly it hit him that he and Dirk were the only existing people in this timeline.

Jake couldn't help but ponder all the things he's never said and done; he thought about never finding the courage to kiss him, and that now literally was his last chance. He looked at Dirk, standing out strikingly against pitch black background, and rose on his tiptoes slowly.

The island shook again, and Jake steadied himself by placing a hand on Dirk's chest.

His heart was beating faster than ever before, and when Dirk covered his hand with his own, Jake thought Dirk must feel the thumping pulse even through the thick material of the glove.

Jake leaned forward almost agonizingly slowly, tongue darting over his upper lip against his will, and he could swear Dirk's eyelids fluttered close behind the shades -

\- and then an explosion of yellowish light cut through the darkness.

Jake dropped his gaze to see the magic source lightened with renewed force between their connected hands, as if they caught a blinding firefly.

The ground disappeared under their feet, and Jake gasped, grabbing onto Dirk, thinking they would fall into abyss, but the next second the light, the darkness, and the screeching sounds of broken timeline disappeared, and they were standing on the secure, soft, and painfully familiar carpets on the wooden floor.

The silence didn't last a beat of Jake's sped-up heart, and was interrupted by a high-pitched scream,

"HOLY CRAP, IT WORKED!!!"

And the next moment Jake's view has blocked by Jade's ecstatic face, tears of happiness running down her cheeks as he spun him and Dirk around.

Everything was a blur of long black hair, but Jake managed to see Bec jumping around them in circles and Rose beaming so hard she could be her own night-lamp, the small models of airships displayed on the wall were the same as Jake last saw them, and the patch of the sky seen from a kitchen window was light blue and crackless again – so he threw the paradox on the ground in lieu of hugging his dear sister with one hand, the other still not letting go of his beloved friend.

"I thought I'd never see you guys again," Jade sniffed. "Come here!"

By the addition of extra weight on his side Jake understood Rose also joined their huddle, and Bec managed to put his front paws on Jake's back and lick his face.

It didn't matter how she did it or what time it was; the important thing was finally, _finally_ being altogether in their own time.

Jake felt like he could cry with relief.

_They did it._

"You are our Jade, aren't you?" He asked just in case, sending Dirk a wide grin, feeling just a tiny bit disappointed he didn't get the chance to follow his desires.

Dirk gave him a relieved smile of his own, and his hand tightened around Jake's waist.

Jade laughed. "Of course I am, silly! It's not like there's a ton of other Jades running around."

"You won't believe it, Jade," he said.

His whole body gave in to the exhaustion and emotional pressure at last, his legs stopped supporting him, and he slumped his weight onto Jade.

"You won't believe it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, our trip into the land of death and desctruction is over! Hope you enjoyed all those tidbits of Jake's life ;)  
> My son Jake is growing up and learning how to trust Jade to be independent...  
> Jade saving the day as usual while being the boss of everyone and everything...  
> Dirk beating people up and saving Jake from snipers...  
> I love this chapter. By the way, the next one is going to be my favourite.
> 
> @ everyone who said Hal's gonna be activated - don't be disappointed, that's the idea. If it was a game, activating Hal would be a bad end. Dirk learning a lesson and commuicating with Jake to ask him for help when temptation was too much - that's good end, for this scene at least.  
> A guide to reading waoheas is thinking about possibilities. Remember - if there's a choice presented there's always a universe were the characters choose something else.  
> ...Of course there's an exception to every rule. If your name is Anna Ryer or Jacob Harley you're dead no matter which universe you're in.  
> Now imagine all the alternate universes where the snipers shot either Jake or Dirk~
> 
> Also I didn't want to waste the big battle with the spirits on this chapter - it's just a sample of the finale, that's why it's so short.
> 
> P.S. We've passed 200k words mark, isn't it cool! 
> 
> [My tumblr](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/)


	14. Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which keeping calm is impossible.

The lack of magic in this world was obvious and unsettling.

Of course, it was there, Jake could feel it; but unlike the future, where the magic was happy to obey his briefest subconscious wishes, this magic was more stubborn and required concentration, and when Jake was performing complicated spells, like reinforcing the paradox cube, it was like walking under water. The paradox was contained, with Jade and Rose's help. Now the cube was suspended in the centre of a slightly bigger faint blue cube, and they saw thin cracks spreading inside of it slowly, stopped by the cage.

The first thing Dirk and Jake did was telling Jade and Rose about the future – just the general picture, about the war and the portal that was about to open and the ritual they needed. To Jake's surprise, the girls didn't look as scared as he expected them to be – maybe because they didn't see the true repercussions of the spirit reign.

He played Meulin’s trick on Rose as well by giving her the torn pages with incorrect spells. At first he wanted to give her Meulin’s letter as well, just so that Rose could be as surprised and had a proper explanation about nonverbal magic as Jake had; but Meulin was first and foremost Equius and Nepeta’s granddaughter, as well as Dirk’s niece, and all mentions of her should belong to those three, that's why he kept the letter.

Jake was itching to talk to Jade about their parents as well, but the topic was too sensitive to bring up in front of Rose, no matter how good of a friend she was.

Jade was bouncing in excitement despite her apparent lack of sleep and refused to look anywhere but at them. Both she and Rose looked exhausted, the house was a mess, but at the moment of reunion nothing really mattered. The way they brought them back was simple and genius – they used the magic source they sent in time as an anchor to pull them into this timeline when the detector spotted the parallel universe they were in.

The fact that they managed to create the detector by themselves was simply amazing, but...

“You did what?!” Jake exclaimed.

Learning that their home was attacked by Eridan and Sollux was one thing; Jade inviting them to work on the detector was another; but letting them go with Aradia _and_ the cog-wheel was completely out of line.

His feelings about them were conflicted: on one hand, he was still hurt over the betrayal of fallen idols, but on the other hand, he knew that in the future they realized their mistakes, which meant they deserved a second chance.

But...  heroics were yet to come.

“How could you, Jade, you know what they are capable of!”

“If you're worried about our safety – don't, Mr. Slick was protecting us, you know the Midnight Crew can shoot the wings off a fly without blinking an eye, and Mr. Slick can do the same but with a knife… We couldn't send them to jail,” Jade sounded annoyed, and patted his elbow in apology right after. “Since we'd have to explain everything and we'll most likely be chained up as well. As you can remember, we are not exactly law-abiding citizens. Besides, we had no evidence against them except for our own words, and we can't charge them for using magic, because the government pretends magic doesn't exist, even after all those reports about underlings turning up all over the place.”

“So you thought it's best to let them walk off?”

“I'm not an idiot, Jake,” she rolled her eyes. “They've been living in our house and eating our food, do you think I wouldn't use this opportunity? I spiked their drinks with potions and now… Rose, show them!”

Rose unfolded a map and held the crystal ball right above it. A thin ray of light shot from a crystal ball, landing at the dot labelled as Fenestram.

“Like an intravenous tracking device?” Dirk inspected the map and the crystal ball.

“Yep!” She said, and Jake looked at her in wonder and awe. “They've been here for the past two days. Magic opens up so many possibilities!”

“I know,” Jake laughed.

“Which means you will have to go there as well to investigate their activity,” Rose said.

“What about you, Rose?” Jade asked, and she sighed, moving her over-growth fringe out of her eyes.

“Frankly, I'd rather reunite with Kanaya. The last time we saw each other was when your mobster gang took me away, I know she is worried. I want to say that I trust you not go get in any trouble, but the recent events proved this not being possible...” Her eyebrows furrowed.

“No, Rose, I really think you should spend more time with Kanaya while you can,” Jake said, and regretted wording it like this the moment her frown deepened.

“What happens to Kanaya in the future?” She asked sharply.

“Me and you, we were the only ones alive,” Jake muttered, and faces of both women fell.

"How did she die?" Rose pressed.

"The spirits killed her," Jake replied, sparing the details.

Rose hesitated for a moment, and then stood up.

“Just keep me posted on any new developments,” she said. “I am going to need to research a ritual to close a portal. Shouldn't take too long, since I know the spell for opening it now. Meanwhile, try not to get in trouble. And no timetravelling!”

“Don't worry, we are planning on spending this and the next day pretending we've never heard about the spirits,” Jake said, already looking forward to doing nothing more difficult than counting how many clouds are in the sky.

After they saw Rose off on the train, they lit the fireplace and settled for a lazy card game – but true calmness Jake desperately wished for never came. He got so used to living in constant fear in the future, the regular peaceful life he used to lead in Nocteville seemed foreign, and it scared him. He kept expecting the portal to pop up, or the paradox to break and destroy this world too, or Eridan releasing more spirits from their vessels and command them to kill Dirk, Jade, Bec, and him...

Jake shook his head, clearing it of unpleasant thoughts, and his eyes fell onto Dirk automatically, who was looking at him with a serious, thoughtful expression. Jake smiled at him briefly, but he was far too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice, so Jake turned to Jade, who managed to win the game while both of them were musing.

They've already told Jade everything about the future – almost everything, some scenes were omitted anyway, simply because Jake didn't want to relive them. After all, Grandma has approved of withholding some information for the greater good, and Jake wished only the greatest of goods for Jade.

Jake often caught Dirk looking at him like this, and at first Jake thought it was an expression of concern, but then he realized it was something else, as if he was trying to figure something out.

Maybe he was thinking about their might-have-been kiss – Jake certainly hoped he was. After all, Dirk didn't pull away, and he was smart and observant, and must've noticed an oddity in the way Jake treated him. Perhaps, he was thinking it through and getting ready to ask Jake to be his boyfriend.

Comforted by this ideal scenario, Jake found his spirits lifting up; so much that even the memories that Jade's next question brought couldn't dump them.

“Tell me something else about Mom and Dad,” Jade asked, her voice curious with a hint of sadness.

Jade kept pestering Jake for more information, and he would've given it gladly, but he has already told her everything he could gather.

“Well," he raked his brains, "Dad seemed to like colour green a lot, like every other Harley, it's probably in our blood… Mom is the only one who enjoyed blue instead.”

“Of course she did,” Jade replied in a satisfied tone.

She was silent for a while, and then asked, “Do you think they died, the other us from the other place?”

The image of the space being torn apart stood clearly in his mind; there was no other answer.

“I think they simply ceased to exist,” Dirk said. “It wasn't destruction in its traditional understanding, the pieces of the universe just disappeared – I reckon that whole timeline vanished, as if it never happened.”

It was a shame, Jake really looked forward to visiting their alternate selves one day and seeing how their visit has changed their lives.

“Where do you think the time went?” Jade mused. “It can't simply go without a trace, we have the law of conservation of energy, all that stuff.”

“Maybe it was devoured by the monsters in the abyss,” Jake said. It was a gut feeling, but he was certain the monsters were there, hiding, feeding off screwed up timelines.

“So many things for you to write about,” Jade smiled, and Jake agreed whole-heartedly.

In reality, it proved to be rather difficult to put everything they experienced in words, in many respects because he wasn't sure if he wanted to share it, especially seeing how other people will regard this as nothing but fiction.

He wrote everything down anyway, so that he would always remember – but he doubted he could ever forget. He tried asking Dirk for his opinion, but for some reason he seemed distant the entire day. Perhaps still mulling over the possible confession – or being under pressure of the past-future events.

"What are you writing there?”

Jake jumped when Jade leaned over his shoulder suddenly, peering at the pages. “ _Mister Jake Strider_ , covered in hearts?"

Jake pushed her away with a laugh.

"Careful with your teasing, remember that now I have the power to levitate and dip you into the lake and I won't even have to move a finger!"

"That's wonderful, we can have the siblings fights more advanced than anyone else!" Jade laughed, and gave him a ridiculously exaggerated wink. "Any luck for your love life in the future?"

Jake sighed, not looking up from the pages. "No... From what I gathered, it was so complicated, I can't even begin to describe."

Jade flicked his nose. "Chin up, bro. Everything will be fine, you have a new future here."

"Yes, I do," Jake smiled weakly and ran a hand through his hair. "Jade, about the future... You died there."

She was surprisingly calm. "Yeah, I know, you've already told me."

"The future me said you died when the portal opened," Jake pressed. "Maybe you should lay off this business for a while?"

Jade stared at him in disbelief. "You expect me to sit here quietly and leave all the action for you guys? No way! The only reason I died is because of my own incompetence and lack of knowledge."

"You don't know for sure."

"But I know myself, and I know this is the only way it could be."

Jake wished he was as confident as Jade was. Uncertainty brought anxiety, and he simply couldn't relax.

The unsettling expectation of something about to happen continued to lie at the bottom of Jake's stomach, making him unable to sit still. Jake was wandering the house without any particular purpose, so, of course, it was only natural that his legs brought him to the guest room where Dirk has settled.

Jake stood in the doorway, quite happy to see the room alive again, and Dirk's possessions finding their place on a bedside table and shelves. Dirk was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, twisting a pen in his fingers; the sword was lying next to him within an arm's reach.

As soon as he saw Jake he closed the journal in a simple grey cover and gave him his full attention, the tense seriousness in his orange eyes never faltering.

Jake sighed, remembering the way Dirk used to smile in the beginning of their journey and the way it warmed him even in the darkest hours.

The seriousness that underlined his every word now served as just another reminder about the desperation that could await them. Jake couldn't wait till this exhausting journey was over so that they could laugh about silly things together again and just be normal people, go on dates, and go to Fenestram on a vacation, not because they had to fight.

"Hi," Jake said, settling on the edge of the bed, and continued without any preambles, "I'm sorry for going overboard with time-travelling... I had the correct coordinates set when we were in Torpos, if that woman didn't attack us, we would've been transported to Jade... I _really_ intended it to be our last stop."

Dirk didn't give any indication that he didn't believe him, but he said, "Or you could've just followed the initial plan."

Jake sighed, biting back a reply. He really didn't want to argue with Dirk, so he just shrugged, muttering "Maybe."

He looked around the room, trying to find a conversation topic to dissolve the awkwardness. His eyes fell at the journal and he remembered that this is what Dirk chose for his last request in the future.

"What's in the there?" Jake asked. "When you were going to – when you thought you won't come back here, you wanted me to take your journal."

"It's... nothing," Dirk said off-handedly. "I wanted to ask you to get it printed so that people would remember me. By the way, this request is still relevant. If anything happens to me, I want you to read it."

"Nothing will happen to you," Jake wanted it to sound like a promise, but his own uncertainty in their fates prevented it.

"Of course, that's why you'll never know what kind of mystery's inside," Dirk said, tone light, and put the journal in the drawer next to his old journal from the future, turning the key. The words _'it's personal'_ couldn't be louder.

Jake stood up, intending to bid him good night, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out, and he slumped back on the bed.

There was something missing here, the unresolved conflict hanging in the air.

So Jake attempted another shot at reconciliation, this time choosing his words carefully and actually thinking about what he was apologizing for.

"I'm sorry for – for almost destroying the universe for the sake of saving Mom and Dad."

"It's a good thing nothing damaged our timeline in the end. Thanks to Jade," Dirk said.

"Yeah, thank to Jade," Jake sighed, inspecting the floral patterns of the wallpaper. "I should have listened to you. You are always right."

"We all have our specialities, and I suppose mine is figuring things out. And yours is... knowing what's morally right. And magic of course, way to up your future self by learning more in fifteen days than he did in sixty years."

Dirk offered him a small smile, and despite the topic of the conversation, Jake still paid more attention to the compliment than to anything else. Flustered, he continued staring at the drawn purple coneflowers. After Dirk admitted his virtues, all modesty and desire to affirm that non-verbal magic for him was just an accident disappeared.

"And Jade's is leadership, of course," Dirk added.

Jake nodded in agreement; managing to operate so many variegated people must have been very hard.

"Yes, just like Grandma," he said proudly.

"Your grandparents seem really nice," Dirk said quite out of nowhere. "I truly wish I knew them better."

"I know," Jake sighed and closed his eyes. "I wish the same."

"I know it was important for you," Dirk said, worrying his lower lip in a very distracting manner. "And – I guess you were right, I’ve never understood what it was like to grieve over the deaths of someone you never knew. Sympathize, sure, but regret to the point of revenge?" He shrugged. "I've never wanted to bring someone back from the dead."

Jake didn't know whether he should feel sorry or happy that Dirk didn't have something to grieve over. In any case, patting his hand in a supporting gesture was the least he could do.

His mind jumped to other things he could do to express his feelings, and as usual he quickly searched for another topic for a conversation.

His eyes fell on a couple of papers lying on a bedside table.

"You forgot to lock up the leftovers of your mysteries."

Dirk's eyes followed to where Jake's finger was pointing.

“It's nothing important," he shrugged. "Just trying to recreate some of the technology I saw in the future. It's not Hal, if you were wondering, I was thinking about restoring the glove, possibly making it into a simple teleportation device without timetravelling properties.”

"Simple, right," Jake smiled. "I know you won't create Hal again."

He thought about many things he wanted to ask Dirk – but all of them were minor compared to the elephant in the room that had to be addressed. However, Jake ran into the same problem he had in the future. He didn't want to be the one to address it. The words of his older self sunk deep despite Jake's resistance: their bond was still fresh and fresh things were easily ruined, especially with misplaced words.

Mainly, because Jake realized that Dirk was the idea man, the instigator, the smartest guy he's ever met, and if he didn't do anything, it meant either he didn't want it, or he wasn't sure, or… Maybe he had other reasons. If so, Jake was sure they were important.

Or maybe they weren't. After all, Meulin said that Dirk was bad at understanding people and relationships. The shocking way he treated his father and even his younger self served as proof.

“Can I ask you something?” Jake said and received a nod. “Why do you hate your father so much?”

“This topic is off-limits,” Dirk said sharply, and then added in much softer tone, “Sorry.”

“What can I do to make it on-limits?”

“I don’t know, become my lawfully wedded husband?” He replied bitterly. “Just drop it, Jake. You shouldn’t care about this.”

Jake frowned. “Maybe it’s up to me to decide what to care about?”

But Dirk just shook his head, it was clear he wouldn't say another word, and, reluctantly, Jake gave up. Perhaps one day he really would become Dirk’s husband, and they would continue this conversation.

Surprisingly, this failed question didn't make the atmosphere awkward. Perhaps something more powerful than wrong questions was needed to ruin their bond.

It seemed like they've already crossed the line of awkwardness, and now all the lines were jammed together, twisted and turned, and it was impossible to figure out where they were.

“Dirk, remember, in the future… When you wanted to, hmmm, send me back to the past… You said you don't have anything to return to. But you have us, you know that? We would… we don't want you to die.”

Dirk said matter-of-factly, “It's not about me desiring death. I simply was the best candidature at the given moment. But,” he smiled at Jake briefly, “I'm glad I get to be your friend a little longer. It's good to be back with Jade and you. This still valid?”

He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out, the coupon for one wish Jake gave him ages (seven days) ago.

Jake nodded.

“Then I have a wish that would be beneficial for the entire team: a day – or rather, a short period of time, day's too long – when we don't have to fight anyone, just like when we first met. I can see the appeal of nostalgia; it would be nice to return the good old days for a while.”

Jake nodded again, reluctantly this time; he wondered if this translated into not wanting to change anything in their relationship (just now? Or at all?)

This was a discouraging thought that turned even more discouraging when his memories automatically jumped to the circumstances in which he gave Dirk that coupon.

His possible death.

Jake thought about his mother with a bullet hole in her forehead, and cringed, angry at no one in particular – just at the fact that it was so _unfair_ that people had to die.

There was this strange tension between him and Dirk, the unsaid words, the decisions they didn't make (and probably made in some alternate universe?), the weight of the future, and the knowledge of what was coming. The silence was heavy, but it wasn't hostile; it united them through the mutual understanding they were so good at experiencing.

So, when Dirk covered Jake's hand with his own in reassurance, and Jake smiled back at him, it felt like the most natural and the most real thing in the world.

***

That night Jake couldn't sleep at all, twisting and turning – the soft fabric of the sheets was rubbing against his skin like sackcloth, the fluffy pillow was too big, and the too hot room made him sweat. His mind was alert and painted images of the spirits and ghouls hiding in the shadows, anxiety twisted his stomach into knots, and after the tenth time he jerked awake he decided he's had enough.

Jake tiptoed out of the room, heading to the living room. Passing Jade's bedroom, he couldn't resist peeking inside just to calm his worry about her possibly not being alright, and, to his surprise, bumped nose-to-nose with yawning Jade.

"What's wrong?" She whispered, and Bec peeked out of the room as well.

"Why are you awake?"

"That's what I wanted to ask."

"Just couldn't sleep."

Jade looked him over, brows furrowed, and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Are you sure you are alright? You are all sweaty."

But explaining the sticky feeling enveloping his insides like a swamp was too hard, so he shrugged, pulling away from her and muttering a lie about wanting to change the surroundings.

Soft footsteps shuffled the carpet of the staircase, and they turned to see Dirk coming down from the third floor.

"Why are you up?" Jake asked, instantly concerned.

"Wanted to check in with your pyjama party. I'm very disappointed that I haven't received an invitation, by the way," he said lightly, and, just like Jade, frowned when he studied Jake's face.

"You don't look so good," he brushed a hand over his temple and cheekbone lightly, and Jake's heart skipped a bit.

All coherent thoughts evaporated and he could only utter, "Uh."

"That's what I said..." Jade muttered, and after observing them for several quiet moment, clasped her hands together, raising her voice, since there was no use in whispering anymore. "Oh, I have a great idea! We should have a sleepover altogether! Grab your blankets and pillows, we'll settle on the floor downstairs like in a camp."

The main room was still warm from the fireplace, but now that they were all together, it didn't seem uncomfortable, but became cosy and domestic.

They stayed up for a long time, just chatting about random things – even Jade, who was obviously sleepy.

The topic of spirits was unavoidable, and Jade was especially interested in hearing what their true forms looked like. It was interesting how inhuman they were, especially seeing how the possessed humans became closer and closer to their original appearances on the contrary. If they ever saw a twelfth spirit released (even though Jake hoped they wouldn't), it's probably going to be fully human.

They fell asleep at four in the morning, and not once did anyone suggested postponing their visit to Fenestram at least for a little longer.

***

The next moment, Jake was the first to wake up, and after opening his eyes he was surprised when he didn't see the roof enforced with metal plates and didn't hear the commotion of eight people preparing for the new day of troubles.

He lied motionless for a while, looking at Dirk, Jade, and Bec, enjoying the simple fact that they were together.

He has always taken his union with Jade for granted, but now that he knew what the alternative was like, he knew he had to try to keep this new formation unbreakable.

His hand moved automatically to brush away strands of hair falling on Dirk's eyes, and smiled when he tried to swat his hand away with eyes still closed. Jake wasn't about to listen to any stupid, nonsensical stuff his future self said. The guy has clearly lost his marbles, if he managed to forget that even before their insane adventures began he knew there was something special about Dirk, something that drew them towards each other.

Instead of breakfast, they had a picnic by the lake, just like in old times with Grandma and Grandpa, and now were lying on the grass, basking in warm autumn sunlight. Jade was picking guitar strings absent-mindedly, Dirk was spread of his back on the grass, eyes closed, and Jake propped himself on his elbows next to snoozing Bec, allowing himself to relax.

There was nothing more Jake wanted for them than staying this calm and content forever.

Maybe it would be better if all four of them just gave this ordeal up and let someone else do the hard work.

In all seriousness, they could do it, allow Rose to take over and gather a new team. This way Jade could return to botany and apply to Sandford with Bec again. Jake could continue "The Legends of the World", now that he had so much to tell. And Dirk... Dirk would want to return to his job in Avis.

Jake started picking blades of grass to distract his thoughts from wandering in that direction.

"Hey guys, I want to play you a song," Jade said, and when he looked at her, she sent him a supportive smile.

When Jake recognized the tune she was strumming, he barely resisted a laugh – figures, Jade would pick the most romantic song she knew.

" _So close, no matter how far, couldn't be much more from the heart_ ," she sang softly. “ _Forever trusting who we are, and nothing else matters._ ”

But this sounded beautiful only in theory of the song lyrics. In reality, what good could the distance bring? With Jade and Bec in Sandford and Dirk in Avis all he could get were occasional letters and "friendly gatherings" during the holidays.

He glanced at Dirk and their eyes met. Jake sent him a weak smile and flicked at blade of glass at his face.

He huffed, blowing he glass away, his nose crinkling in the most adorable way, and before Jake could do something stupid, like leaning down and kissing him senseless, he drooped on his back, spreading under the welcoming sun, and allowed the song wash over and wishing the burning sensation in his chest away.

Dirk was right when he said nothing made sense anymore.

Jake was home, but he felt lost.

***

Thankfully, Fenestram's usual blazing heat has died out in autumn, but it was still incredibly warm, and groups of tourists were scattered on the beach under colourful umbrellas. The coats were taken off again, leaving only short-sleeved shirts.

Jake, Dirk, Jade, and Bec were strolling on a familiar path past the sign saying "Welcome to the leisure paradise", and deeper into the city itself. However, there was the strangest feeling that something was off, and after a while Jake realized he's never seen the streets so empty before – even in winter a lot of people came to see the famous recreational place.

He was looking around in search of a possible poster that could announce a festival that would draw the citizens away from the centre, when a voice called, "Hey!"

They saw a local girl sitting in a café nearby, who smiled and waved at them to come closer.

"You are tourists, right? You shouldn't go in the city right now."

"Why not?" Jake tilted his head.

"There are _monsters_ out there," she whispered in a conspiratorial tone. "You probably don't believe me, but they come to haunt our town every other day. Giant snakes, horrible trolls, things you've never seen before... But there's a team of heroes protecting us, so you can just relax and have fun! Would you like some coffee while you sit out the danger?"

She handed them the same menu twenty other people in the café were holding. All of them were chattering animatedly with no traces of fear or concern.

"Thanks, we are good," Jade raised her eyebrows. "We'd much rather go and see those mysterious _heroes_."

She put the last word in air quotes.

"Suit yourself," the girl shrugged nonchalantly and returned to her newspaper, which front page said _‘Disturbance In Halitus: A Hoax To Ruin Egbert’s Reputation?’_

They went on with a bit more carefulness, weapons prepared and teeth bared (although the last thing applied to Bec only). However, Jake didn't even care to bring his pistols – why would he need them if he had magic on his side?

There wasn't much time until they spotted the first group of underlings – a bunch of ogres pointlessly smashed a bright hotdog stand. Without missing a bit, Jade grinned, whipped out her rifle and attacked the closest one along with Bec; Dirk slid under the biggest ogre, slicing its legs off in one fluent motion, and Jake summoned the energy of combustion to blow up three ogres at once. Honestly, after everything they've seen in the future those were easier than a piece of cake. They were muffin crumbs.

The commotion attracted a hoard of basilisks of all shapes and sizes that poured out from the roofs of the buildings. They used their speed and snake-like flexibility in their advantage, but still posed no threat to the team. Jade ran out of bullets quickly and switched to magic as well – although she wasn't happy to do so, she still preferred old-fashioned weapons; Dirk didn't need any help with plunging his blade in the underlings' bodies with the same amazing speed that allowed him to survive in the future, and Jake's spells reached the basilisks before they could think about an attack.

Jake turned, prepared to blast another basilisk, but before he could gather the energy for the spell, a girl jumped out of nowhere, did a perfect somersault, landing on its head, and thrust two swords she was holding right in its neck. The basilisk quivered and stilled, melting into black goo, and the girl slid down its leg gracefully, landing right in front of them.

"I knew I heard familiar voices," Terezi grinned. "What's up, guys?"

The two blades slid back together and formed a cane with a dragon head that she leaned on casually. She was wearing pointy glasses with bright red lenses and had a much more confident aura contrast to the last time they saw her. In fact, it was such a drastic difference, Jake had to do a double take on her.

"How are you doing this? All the flips and kicks?” He asked in surprise and pointed in the vague direction of her face. “I mean, you are blind, right?...”

Her mouth fell open and her hand flew to her eyes immediately. "Holy shit, really?! I didn't notice!" She laughed again. "Vision isn't the only sense you need in order to know how to fight, dickweed."

“What do you use then, magic?” Dirk asked.

“More like my willing to survive and attachment to Fenestram,” Terezi waved her cane.

"Terezi, I think we should-" Karkat appeared, holding a sickle covered in remains of the underlings. He frowned instantly upon seeing them. "Oh, it's you again. Finally decided to clear your conscience and apologize for the town being turned in a complete ruckus with innocent civilians having to slice up those fucking devilbeasts more frequently then we chop cabbage for a pie?"

He was distracted momentary by a couple of imps who saw his sickle and run away with shrill screaming, but Jake caught them in mid-jump and smashed them against the wall with a snap of a finger.

"Huh, so that's how you do magic," Karkat said, raising his eyebrows.

"You don't seem too surprised," Dirk noted.

Terezi laughed again.

"Maybe it has something to do with encountering these monsters every other day."

She was oblivious to the bright pink light blazing around the corner of an alleyway, while realization of why this colour was so familiar was slowly dawning on Jake.

"Everyone, duck!" Karkat yelled suddenly, and dragged them under the arch of the nearest building, and Jake managed to cover his ears just in time when a sound wave of an exploding spirit bomb rushed through the streets, knocking the rest of the underlings out, as well as everything that wasn't bounded to the ground.

"Aranea's experimental bombs," Terezi cringed, flattening her hair that was sticking in all directions. "Although it would be nice of her to at least warn us."

"So you are not working together?" Jade asked.

Karkat huffed and performed the most impressive eye-roll. "Not in a million years would I ever come to associate myself with the likes of traitors and swindlers."

He packed the sickle in the holster above his knee.

"Anyway, I guess our job for today is done, let's bask in the fucking shower of fame and sign autographs on photos and body parts I don't want to think about. Thanks for coming in the last moment and providing zero help, by the way," he snarled, and Terezi hit his arm lightly.

"Karkles, be nice to people who can blast your head by pointing a finger at it."

"Why? We both know if they are here, it means some weirdass shit is going to happen soon, and we are going to get involved."

"You keep saying it, yet you love every second of weirdass shit you're a part of, and you get involved in it on purpose," Terezi said. "Alright, magical travellers, what is your purpose here?"

"Two vessels are hidden here, of Blood and Hope," Jade said. "Have you heard about anything?"

"What do they look like?" Terezi asked, wiping her cane off the black oil.

Everyone looked at Jake in expectation.

"Well," he hesitated, "There are only two more objects known to belong to the Empress: her hairclip and earring."

Karkat's face screwed in deep concentration.

"There were no hairclips in our shop, nothing I've ever heard of."

"They could check the Deep Sea," Terezi suggested, and Karkat nodded enthusiastically.

"It's a shop for random crap divers find at the bottom of the ocean," he explained. "Tourists like to believe its valuable, but perhaps your vessel wormed its way in that weed-reeking underwater trash."

"How many people know about it?" Dirk asked, and Jake understood what he meant: he remembered who brought them here.

"Everyone," Karkat confirmed their suspicions, shrugging.

"Alright," Jade said slowly, " _They_ would definitely check that shop out, so let's assume they've already found one vessel. What other places we could visit?"

Jake racked his brains, trying to remember everything he could about Fenestram. They have visited the town when they were kids, as a part of Grandpa's real life lecture about the ancient civilization that could be residing under the sea, but the only places they went to were the beach and some chalk caves nearby. When he said it, Dirk perked up instantly.

"We should visit those caves," he announced.

"Those were regular caves, not old at all," Jake noted.

Dirk shrugged. "Let's say I have a magical gut feeling we'll find something there."

"Bec and I don't mind," Jade smiled.

"I hope you don't mind our company either," Terezi said, while Karkat and she watched the whole exchange with curiosity. "We love solving mysteries!"

"Did someone mention mysteries?" A gentle, all too familiar voice said, and they saw Aranea leaning against the wall.

Karkat slapped his forehead. "You've got hearing problems, go the fuck away."

"Hello to you too, Karkat, Terezi. You are welcome, by the way," her sharp blue eyes bore into Jake, Dirk, Bec, and Jade. The latter was tense, hands gripped the rifle tightly, as if she was about to slam it into someone.

"You've ratted us out to Vriska," she said, a dangerous edge to her voice.

Aranea tilted her head. "I might have mentioned something about you in a routine talk with my sister about my daily life, nothing more. Her decisions are not my responsibility."

"Ignore her," Karkat said, turning around and taking Terezi's elbow to motion her to do the same. "And don't follow us!"

"I just so happen to be intending to walk in the same direction," Aranea said calmly, joining the group as they moved to the direction of the seaside. "My sister said some very unflattering things about your group, especially _you_ ," she nodded at Dirk. "Cutting her hand off was something she referred to as _'a dick move'_ , even though she respected the boldness."

"How is she?" Dirk asked shortly.

"Fine as usual. Got a prosthetic arm, hates her new teammates, wants you dead," Aranea said politely.

"New teammates?" Jake asked, instantly imagining Vriska as a commander of an army. "What happened to the other two guys, uh, Tavros and Gamzee, right?"

"They've been put on a probation. Kicked out, in other words."

"Any information about the new teammates?" Jake asked.

"Anything you can offer me in return?"

"Don't even think about telling her anything," Terezi warned.

"Oh, but you should be a little grateful, Terezi, I've returned your vision."

"Yes, for exactly five seconds. You are still a fraud," Terezi deadpanned, which didn't stop Aranea from smiling.

“But I _did_ return it.”

Karkat grumbled and quickened his pace, making a point of staying as far away from Aranea as possible.

"Aranea, can I ask you something... more personal?" Jake asked.

"I am single," she said, flipped her black hair back gracefully, and both Dirk and Jade uttered audible sounds of discontent.

"What? No, not that!" He stuttered. "I wanted to ask about Vriska's motivations. What does she want? She can't be wanting to be involved in all this for money, because she doesn't get any."

"Oh, the answer is easy. Like every smart person, she wants to take over the world using a power people don't know and therefore fear," Aranea replied simply.

The idea of taking over the world with the spirits' help was so bizarre that Jake fell silent till they reached the caves, exchanging glances with Dirk ever so often, knowing that he was thinking about what they saw in the future as well.

The caves were small and light, with white chalk walls and many entwining tunnels. The humans paused before entering, not knowing what turn to take first, but Bec strolled to the right with confidence, so they decided to simply follow him till he stopped at a dead end.

"So what do you think we'll find here?"

"A hiding place,” Dirk said. “Imagine you are the guy who decided to conceal something in a cave, how would you do it?"

Jake thought for a while. "I'd probably carve a pocket in the chalk at the ceiling, so that people won't have easy access..."

Terezi began tapping the ceiling with her cane even before he finished.

"Hey, this one sounds hollow!" She said, breaking the cane into two blades again and hitting the soft chalk. White powder rained on her until the blades hit something with a metal gnash, and a simple small box with no signs fell right on her head.

While Karkat helped her up, Jake grabbed the box, melting the metal lock down, and ripped it open to reveal a single huge ruby: no less than a thousand carats. Ancient symbols written in golden paint covered its sides.

"Wow," Jade breathed, stroking a finger over it. "The magicians must have used the gem instead of the entire hairpin, and I whole-heartedly approve, it's beautiful!"

Jake pocketed the ruby carefully.

"Well, that was easy," he said, and Karkat smacked him.

"Choose your words! Haven't you ever read a book? Don't you know that every time someone says it, shit goes down and bodies hit the floor?"

"That's true."

Everyone's heads turned to the cave entrance to see Vriska blocking the light in the entrance.

Jake wanted to laugh about how cheesily dramatic her appearance was – her dark silhouette stood out against the bright light of the day, which gave her prosthetic metal arm a menacing glint. But her right eye, that wasn't obscured by the black patch, bore such a hardened expression, the laughter stuck in his throat.

"So nice to see all of you again,” like Aranea, she was smiling, but her tone was steely. “Thank you for doing all the hard work, by the way, all I had to do was follow my idiot sister whom I've specifically told to keep you long nose as far away from my business as possible," she raised her voice, staring Aranea down.

"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even know who they are," Aranea folded her arms.

Vriska let out an exaggerated sigh and rubbed a hand over her face. "Why do I always have to be surrounded by idiots... Need I remind you that I am the mastermind and the boss here, which means you have to listen to-"

A rock wall emerged from the ground and slammed into the ceiling, cutting Vriska off.

Jake lowered his hand and answered the questioning looks of others, "Sorry, I wasn't in the mood for hearing another monologue."

Jade laughed, creating a ball of light to eliminate the darkness, "Good job, man!”

“Yeah, expect we are stuck in here,” Karkat grumbled.

“No we are not,” Dirk said, walking deeper into a cave. “We will just dig our way up. Do you still have the tracking spell on Ampora's gang?"

Jade nodded. "Yes, but I need a map and a crystal ball to locate them."

"I have a crystal ball," Aranea supplied, pulling it out from under her skirt – Jake didn't want to think about how she managed to strap it there.

Karkat rummaged his pockets.

"I think I had the Fenestram map somewhere... What?!" He protested when Jade cringed at the greasy stains. "I used it to wrap our stakeout sandwiches!"

Jade's spell indicated a place in the city centre, and Jake wanted to share the usual prideful smiles with Dirk, happy for with sister to come up with such a spell, but Dirk had the same distant thoughtful look as before. To cover up his disappointment, he crushed easily breakable chalk, forming a tunnel leading in the direction of the city.

“If you needed to find Eridan, you should have taken Vriska along. They work together now, if you must know,” Aranea said.

“They do what?” Jade turned on her heels sharply, dropping the crystal ball.

“Well, their goals are quite similar, this is a productive collaboration,” she said matter-of-factly.

This time Dirk met Jake's eyes, but judging by the lack of concern he showed Jake figured it wasn't a disaster. If anything, it was a good thing, because they didn't have to worry about two group of rivals.

"You are very good at magic," Aranea said when Jake busted an opening that led to a small street right underneath a giant radio transmission tower looming over the buildings. Passer-bys threw curious glances at the group of people climbing out of a random hole in the ground, but said nothing.

"Uh, thanks?" Jake said, giving the others a hand to help them climb out. He didn't like the way Aranea looked at him, as if he was a fascinating object she wanted in her collection.

"Perhaps I could join your team?"

"No way," Dirk and Jade answered in unison, and Jade gave Bec a boost.

"Do you not understand basic means of human communication?!” Karkat shouted. “I've already told you a million times, stop following us!!"

"I can go wherever I want, it's a free country," Aranea answered haughtily and continued walking along in the direction Jade pointed at after consulting the map.

The street led to a small square with several bright tents selling souvenirs, and quite a lot of people strolling, unaware of any suspicious activity.

Jake curled his fingers around the magical energy, ready to conjure up an attack spell, and shifted closer to Dirk, throwing a light shield over everyone just in case.

And this precaution paid off, because the next moment an explosion rang and a stream of sharp ice daggers showered them, and while Jake was focusing on tightening the shield over their heads, he felt the ruby slipping out of his pocket.

It floated upwards, joining a shimmering garnet, and a thick cage formed around both of them, like the ones used to contain the spirits – and as soon as Jake realized it, he knew there was no chance of penetrating it for a person who didn’t create the original spell.

He still tried though, but he couldn't take the focus off shielding the others from oncoming attacks from Eridan's team, so it was no avail.

Dirk tried knocking out Sollux, who was responsible for creating the cages, only to be stopped by Eridan's spell that exploded ground under his feet – even though Jake tried shouting that this won't damage the cages and why wouldn't he just step back and won't get himself in the middle of a fight with just a sword – but either the noise was too loud or he simply ignored him. Meanwhile Jake had to break Aradia's paralysing spell directed at Jade, thankful that at least they weren't firing at the innocent citizens, who were clearing the square in panic.

Jake thought that being in the future would mean he became superior in magic, but even being outnumbered, Eridan and Aradia managed to keep up with them – perhaps they had their own source of learning.

Terezi broke her cane again, and both she and Karkat attacked Eridan, who had no problem fighting them both at once, all while Aranea leaned against a bench, observing the scene with mild curiosity.

The air smelt of burnt hair; Dirk swung his sword above his head, breaking the stream of scorching coals that rained on him, and Jake diverted the ones he missed, which was the most of them. Once again, worry twisted his stomach, and he surveyed the surroundings with extreme carefulness – that's why he was ready to freeze a dart flying in Dirk's direction mid-air, aiming right at his temple.

He twisted his head frantically, searching for the attacker, and Dirk hissed, “Vriska.”

Vriska was panting a little and clutching her sword. Her metal arm was pointing at Dirk.

“We haven't finished talking! I don't mean when he," she glared at Jake, "slammed a door on me, I mean when you cu-"

Her monologue was interrupted for the second time. Jade yelled, "YOU!" and lashed out at her, and Jake used this distraction to drag Dirk away, since Vriska seemed to have the same amount of hate for him as Jade had for her – but he broke free and went after her anyway.

Jade's abandoned gun flapped around, tied to her back, while she conjured streams and beams of energy to get both Vriska and the vessels levitating high above, with Bec protecting her from new attacks. Dirk's sword collided with Vriska’s metal arm with a terrible cringe, and it this mess of spells immediately cancelled by counter-spells it was hard to pinpoint their origin. Jake was focused on penetrating the floating cages and getting the vessels, while breaking the stunning spells coming his way.

This, and keeping an eye on Dirk.

Even Karkat and Terezi, weak as they were, could conjure basic shielding charms, while Dirk hurled Sollux's throwing star back with his sword at the same time as battling Vriska whose snarl screamed "Revenge".

"Dirk, careful!" Jake yelled, pushing him out of the way of Aradia's attack that made wispy ghosts of wind and smoke.

"I could've taken it," he said, sounding displeased.

"You don't know it," Jake conjured a shield above them to protect them against more ice daggers, and removed it to take another shot at the vessels. However, Eridan was quick to break his spell and reached towards his gun.

"I don't deny your amazing swordsmanship skills, but this is magic, it's not your level... You could get hurt," he said, looking at Dirk pleadingly, but was met with a sharp glare.

"I can take care of myself, Jake, you know it, we've been to the future together," he brandished his sword at Vriska again, but Jake saw her fingertips glowing with a familiar light of a combustion spell and knew there was no way Dirk could shake it off.

So in one fluent motion he melted the daggers, gathering the water, and locked her palm in ice – and at the same moment there was a loud bang, and a red hot rod ripped through Jake's stomach, making his insides quiver.

The pain was so horrible his legs gave in immediately and he fell on his knees, pressing a hand to his stomach that was covered in hot red blood.

It took him several long seconds to connect this to Eridan's slightly shocked expression and the gun he was holding.

“Jake! Oh my god, hold on!” Jade’s shrill voice was pure panic, but what scared him the most was Dirk calling his name, because he’s never thought Dirk was capable of expressing so much fear.

"Holy crap," Jake heard Aradia saying, and Eridan protesting weakly, "I didn't mean to do it!", and then he saw Dirk's and Jade's faces as they pushed him on his back.

The unbearable pain was slowly spreading all over his body, paralyzing his muscles, it was impossible to breathe, and with the last remaining strength Jake reached out through magic towards the bullet stuck in his insides and dropped it on the ground. Dirk's and Jade's faces were swimming, Jade's eyes glistening with tears, Bec's nose bumped in his cheek, his head was spinning, and he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer; and then he heard someone say, "It's okay, Karkat's the doctor!"

"Only in training..."

Someone's hands undid his shirt.

"How is he?"

"Hard to tell for sure, but it seems the lungs are unharmed."

"Is it lethal?" Dirk asked.

"Yes, unless we get him in a hospital, pronto."

Someone sobbed.

"Why? All we need is right here. Magic can heal just fine."

Slowly, the pain left the muscles and concentrated only around the wound, and Jake could crack one eye open. Aranea was kneeling nearby, hand pressed to his stomach.

"See? It's working already, I've relieved the pain. I can't believe you forgot that I'm a healer, Terezi."

Dirk moved the strands of hair sticking to Jake's forehead, covered in cold sweat.

"How are you feeling?" Jade asked; her lips were trembling.

"Better," Jake forced the words out; he could feel his pulse thumping in every cell of his body and it was difficult to breathe, but the pain was gone. He managed to lift his hand and show them the piece of metal, "Look, I've got the bullet."

"Oh my god, shut up!" Karkat said. "Who the fuck is dumb enough to talk with half of their insides turned into minced meat? I could understand if it was something vital, like revealing a map that leads to the shitload of gold buried in your backyard as your last request, but no-o-o, you have to show off your fucking bullet, like look at me, I'm a dumbass who got shot!"

"Are you sure he's going to be alright?" Dirk asked, looking at Aranea.

"Why of course," she replied calmly. "All I have to do is sew the tissue back, easy task."

"Alright then," Dirk stood up, knuckles on the hand that clasped the sword turned white. "I'm going to kill him."

"Not if I kill him first," Jade echoed and loaded her rifle, her expression turning from concerned to dangerous in a matter of seconds.

They both turned to Eridan, who took just one look at their faces and backed away.

"It was an accident, honestly!" He raised one hand in a reconciliatory gesture, but the other was folded prepared to conjure a spell. "Frankly, I thought he'd stop the bullet, that was so easy, all he had to do was conjure up a shield, I've seen him doing it earlier..."

"If you think it's so easy," Jade's voice was so low it could be confused with Bec's growling, "Stop this."

She unloaded the whole magazine of bullets at him, and the fight restarted on a new level of violence. The vessels were all but forgotten, floating away from the brawl, the six people and a dog seemed to be more focused on hurting each other; Jake tried to rise up and call for them to stop, but Karkat pressed him down.

"Lie still or you're a goner."

"That's two against four," Terezi said, gripping her swords. "I'll go help them."

"Be careful," Karkat nodded.

"You have to go too," Jake rasped. "You have to help them, Jade is okay, but Dirk can't do magic, he can get hurt..."

"It's means you'll stay with her," Karkat stuck a thumb at Aranea.

"We'll be fine," Jake said. "It's more… More important to help them. Please."

Karkat hesitated for a moment, but then nodded shortly and grabbed the sickle. "Don't try anything funny!"

"Wouldn't even think of it," Aranea smiled politely.

After a while the battle moved around the corner of the building and Jake couldn't see them anymore – but hearing the shouts, explosions, and shaking ground made him tremble with fear, and even Aranea's calming murmurs and movements didn't help.

"I have to let you in on a little secret," she said. "I've studied healing magic only in theory, never being able to practice it until recently. And I certainly didn't try patching up gunshots before."

"It's okay," Jake said.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is," she mused, as if she didn't hear him, "I'm not good at this. You don't feel the pain because I numbed it, but your body is still suffering the effects of the wound, including severe blood loss I can't stop and several infections you've already got, lying on the ground like this. If we don't get you to a hospital within, say, the next twenty minutes, the damage will be irreversible."

Jake's chest heaved as he waited for her to continue. It was a weird sensation. There was no pain, just numbness, but at the same time he was aware of a sticky hot pool of blood spreading underneath him and drenching his hair and clothes.

"There is another method of quick, foul-proof healing. I've only witnessed it once, but I've always wanted to try it... I just didn't have a chance or a subject to test it on. I hope you don't mind," she smiled. "We can call it out little medical experiment."

Jake didn't like the sound of it, but he couldn't move a finger – it was like his body was filled with lead.

An explosion rang again, and they saw random debris flying from where the battle was.

“They seem so busy,” Aranea lamented and outstretched her hand towards the cages with the vessels, making them swim closer, and popped them open, making both gemstones fall on the ground. She picked up the garnet and inspected the symbols on it, taking notes on a leaflet she pulled out of her dress.

Jake wanted to move away from her, but the numbness seemed to be spreading further, wrapping his mind in lazy mist.

"I swear, it's nothing personal, Jake, even though I was a little offended with how actively you rejected my alliance proposition," she said, nodding to herself with satisfaction when her writing was complete. She reread the translation once more and stuck it in her cleavage. "Also, I'm really sorry for what you are about to experience, but I can't let you keep the numbing spell. It says right here, this ritual can only be completed if the human vessel experiences serious pain at the moment of transformation. See, Jake, it's destiny. You and Hope are meant to be one."

She ran a hand over him and Jake couldn't resist a cry of pain as terrible agony overtook every single cell of his body, a hundred times worse than a gunshot.

In the middle of this he didn't even notice Aranea shoving the garnet inside the wound and saying the spell, and then a welcomed blackness overtook him.

***

Eridan rocketed two streams of water freezing into ice daggers Dirk's way, but he dropped to the ground rolling out of their way and getting to Eridan's feet, striking the katana upwards, only to be met with a shield charm.

Rage turned his blood into boiling magma, it consumed him like never before, and he was close to losing his head completely, dominated by desire to make him pay.

Judging by the way Jade, and even Bec, landed their blows, they felt the same.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dirk saw Vriska's sword in a blur – but Karkat's sickle caught it by the hook on the end.

Aradia was sporting a bomb again – one of those has already blown up, causing terrified screams of onlookers who scattered around, watching them from a safe distance. Dirk sidestepped, intending to aim another attack at her, but something sharp cut into his foot. He frowned, picking the ruby up and realizing that the spherical cages of the vessels were no longer hanging in the air.

Suddenly they heard a piercing scream, and Jade cried "JAKE!!!", forgetting about her opponents and running down the street, Dirk and Bec followed her instantly.

It was a bad idea to leave him alone with Aranea.

But the true terror came in a form of blazing white light, so bright, not even the shades saved him. The light shaped into two giant wings that flapped and hit them with a stream of air, and a figure rose into the air, its form resembling a traditional depiction of an angel.

"Dirk! Do you think that's..." Jade began, fear twisting her features.

"I didn't find the garnet," he said and, upon spotting Aranea, grabbed her by the collar and channelled his own fear by slamming her to the wall.

"Alright, interrogation time," Jade said, and Bec accompanied her with growling. "What have you do with Jake?"

Aranea rolled her eyes. "I've healed him, you should be thankful."

Dirk lifted her against the wall, and her feet dangled, not reaching the ground.

"Explain."

"He would have died of that wound, so I let the spirit in. You know that they revert the human bodies to pristine condition, you remember how it was with Terezi," she clawed at his hand to free her throat.

"Do you know the counter-spell?"

"Of course. Although I don't see the reason why I should give it to a man who holds me like this. It's pretty rude."

Jade wanted to snap back at her, but the rest of the group has caught up with them, and Karkat shouted, "Holy shit, is this one of those spirit things?!"

"Where, what is it?" Terezi asked, whipping her head around.

Dirk looked up at the creature sitting on the roof, observing the city and lowered Aranea.

"Read the counter-spell," he said, and she made a scene of brushing non-existent dust off her dress.

"Firstly, I need to get close to him, which is hard with him sitting up there."

Dirk thought about saying she was going to climb every single building in this city if they told her to, but right at that moment Hope – he recognized its appearance from their last fight in the future – jumped from the building and swept above them, scooping the whole group into its wide, blindingly bright wing. Everyone except Aranea, whom it managed to separate and leave on the ground, and Bec, whom Jade told to run and whom the spirit didn't pay much attention to.

"Terezi, hold on!" Karkat yelled, grabbing her to carry her bridal style as they rose above the ground, all eight people crumpled together.

Jade squeezed Dirk's wrist so hard he thought she'd break it, and before they could get scared of the sudden pressure of air pummelling them flat into the surface of the wing, they were standing on a feeble narrow border around the antenna, on the very to top the tallest building in Fenestram: the radio transmission tower.

The border was barely wide enough for a human foot, but all eight of them managed to stand still, grappling the antenna. Dirk glanced down, assessing the distance to the ground – five hundred metres, maybe more.

Dirk balanced Jade, making sure she doesn't fall – but it wasn't necessary, since the spirit's wing wrapped safely around them. Dirk squinted, trying to look into its face, but the light was unbearable. Maybe it was for the best, he would hate to see Jake's features on this creature.

“You can't hurt us,” Aradia said. Even though she sounded confident, her fear was evident by the way she refused to look down and was practically glued to the antenna. “We are on your side, Hope, we want to help!”

“She means the four of us,” Vriska added, pointing at herself and her new teammates.

Dirk glared at her; he wouldn't be surprised if she straight up told Hope to throw the spares off the tower. He tightened his grip on Jade just in case.

“The spirits and humans have never been on the same side and never will be,” Hope said with an ingratiating voice and Sollux, who was the closest to its face, shivered. “Besides, if you really were on our side, you would've released me and my brethren earlier.”

“We were simply waiting for an opportune moment to rise and then offer our services,” Eridan said, sounding perfectly calm. Dirk remembered the future instantly, and Cronus oozing with awe, telling about his idol, the Destroyer of Hope. “That moment being…” Eridan threw a sideways glance at Dirk and Jade. “You know, the _thing_.”

“If you are referring to the barrier being worn out and breaking, no need to be secretive, we know about it,” Dirk cut him off.

“You,” the spirit said and unfolded the second wing. Its tip lifted Dirk's chin, tipping his head so that the spirit could look at his face properly.

“What?” Dirk asked, keeping his voice and features steady.

That was the beauty of the shades; for everyone, Dirk faced the spirit with no fear and hesitation, and nobody knew that he had to shut his watery eyes that felt like branding iron was stuck in them from all the light.

But the spirit said nothing; it released him and grabbed the antenna, hanging upside down from it.

“The day when the barrier breaks will come soon,” Eridan said. “And then you will be free without this human vessel bounding you, if only you wait a little longer. What's a few days against two thousand years of waiting?”

“A very short period indeed,” the spirit said in a pleasant tone. “But why wait if I can take what belongs to me right now and purge the world with a cleansing light of Hope accompanied by the woman who freed me.”

Dirk knew it was about to fly away, and said, “Wait! Don't you want to take her with you?”

He pointed at Jade, who looked at him, surprised.

The spirit looked her over with the same interest a person regards a piece of seaweed on the beach. “Why?”

“She is the sister of the human you are possessing, there must be some leftover feelings for her in you.”

If he could reach Jake's consciousness and convince the spirit to take Jade, he would kill two birds with one stone – get her to safety and set her on a quest of finding Aranea and the counter-spell.

“Human relationships neither interest nor affect me,” Hope said simply, and with a short flap of wings he rushed towards the ground, leaving them stranded around the antenna in blasting wind that hit them mercilessly, now that there were no wings to shield them.

Dirk wondered why he interested the spirit, and couldn't come to any possible conclusion. Maybe he hung out with Jake and Jade for too long and some of their magic rubbed off on him – there couldn't be anything special about him personally. The way he saw the situation, he was just an accidental addition, a wrench thrown in a two-thousand-year-old plan.

He decided he didn't possess enough information to draw conclusions, so he set the question aside for a while.

He was distracted by Jade asking, "You thought he'd recognize me?"

"Yes, since he knows about possession and has strong feelings towards you."

"It doesn't work like that," Aradia said. "A spirit assimilates with your soul, actually the more magical you are, the harder it is to break the bond."

"Terezi could break the control," Jade noted.

"Only for a second," Terezi said. "And it was Mind weakening its grip on me, not me being strong and overcoming it with my power of will or whatever."

But Dirk was more concerned about another thing.

“How did you learn about the barrier wearing thin?” He asked Aradia.

Eridan began talking, “Fef-”

Sollux stepped of his foot.

“I mean, _someone_ told us.”

Dirk nodded; the unsaid name of Feferi Peixes was the last piece of puzzle to form a complete picture, and he stashed it away for later thinking.

"He wasn't talking to you!" Jade snapped at Eridan, circling the antenna to glare at him.

"I'm the leader, so I answer for all my subordinates," he glanced at Vriska and she rolled her eye – the one concealed under the black patch remained unmoving, and Dirk felt a stab of guilt, remembering that it was his fault the left half of her face was scarred.

Jade continued glaring at Eridan so hard Dirk thought she'd start shooting combustion beams out of her eyes.

"Hey, I've already said sorry for shooting your brother, it was an accident! If anything it's his fault," he stuck a finger at Dirk. "If he didn't need help all the time, maybe your brother would've had time to put up a shield!"

Dirk's insides made an even more unpleasant jolt: Eridan was technically right.

"Do not pass the blame!" Jade tried to reach out to hit or slap him, but he dodged. "You still pulled the trigger!"

"Like I said, our goal was to scare you off, we never intended to actually kill anyone, we don't need any unneeded victims," Eridan's tone was exasperated, as if he was explaining the most obvious thing.

Vriska raised her eyebrows. Her hair was flapping madly on the wind, and her only functioning arm was holding the antenna. "Wait, I thought you said only Harleys have to be left alive, we can kill the rest."

"That's not how I worded it!”

“You totally did.”

"I've never said the word _kill_."

"Yeah, it was in subtext."

“What I did word comprehensively," Eridan glared at Vriska, "Was that you were supposed to keep your sister in line."

"I didn't know that little shit would pull something like this! She has always managed to fool everybody with her goody-two-shoes attitude, even our mother."

Sollux thumped his head against the antenna. "As much as all of us love listening to your playful banter, maybe we should focus on getting on the ground instead."

"I second this," Karkat and Terezi said in unison.

Dirk knew Jade was about to agree and stopped her with a gesture. Yes, they needed to get down as soon as possible, because every second spent on the top of the tower was a second Jake had a spirit in his body – but at the same time this was a perfect moment to tell their opponents what he wanted.

"You know that we've been to the future," he said, and the reaction was immediate: Eridan and his team all shut up and turned to listen to him attentively.

"You've been to the future?!" Terezi exclaimed.

"Have you seen us there?" Karkat asked. "What do we look like, where do we work?"

"We didn't see you because you were dead. Eighty percent of the population will be dead if you continue your escapade," he looked at Eridan.

"Well," Eridan shrugged. "That's the principle of nature, eliminating the weak."

"We opened the portal and it failed, this is the fact," Dirk pressed.

"Here you go!" Eridan stuck a finger in the air in triumph. " _You_ opened the portal, not us. We have a way with spirits, and if we open the portal, everything will be under control."

"You are insane!" Jade exclaimed. "Here is a person who saw who all of this will end and you still stick to your ideas?"

"Our plan is fool-proof! We have discovered magic you haven't even dreamt of, the kind that will allow us to control the spirits," Eridan said. "Right, Ara, Vris?"

Both women nodded.

"Sol?"

Sollux hesitated, taking time to remove the hair that got stuck behind his glasses. "Dunno, ED, I would listen to a guy who saw them up close."

"Don't be stupid, we know what we are doing," Eridan scoffed. “ _You-know-who_ was raised for this.”

But the job was done, and a grain of doubt was planted in Sollux, and Dirk hoped he will be sensible enough to step back and take his teammates along. Apparently, Vriska's subordinates have already done the same.

“Dirk, look, it's Bec!” Jade exclaimed, pointing down, and at first he was surprised by how she managed to identify a tiny white dot as Bec, but then he remembered the connection they had. “He's gonna help us!”

Eridan's eyebrows shot up. “Unless you have a magical flying dog I'm afraid he can't do anything.”

“I'm sorry, was I talking to you?” Jade didn't spare a glance at him. Dirk had to grab her waist because she turned around, bending down like a person with no sense of self-preservation, retrieved her binoculars and shouted at Bec, “What is it, boy?!”

Obviously, he couldn't hear her down there, and Vriska raised one eyebrow.

“Well, while you rely on dogs to save you, I suppose I'll make me own escape. I've heard everything I wanted anyway,” she took her prosthetic arm, fiddling with metal plates covering its surface and finally popping one open, revealing a hollow space with a set of buttons.

“Also, I think I owe you a thanks, after all,” she continued. “If you didn't cut my hand off, I would never have this,” she punched a button and a grappling hook shot out of the palm, wrapping around a smaller tower a hundred metres away.

“Vris, what the hell, why didn't I know about this!!” Eridan splattered, looking at the arm with huge eyes. “I'm your boss, you should tell me everything!”

“The thing is,” Vriska checked if the steel rope was secure and fixated its end, snapping the arm shut, “nobody is the boss of me, it's about time you learn it. Besides, it's a family matter, you wouldn't understand. I really need to find my sister and talk some sense into her," she smiled pleasantly, just like Aranea, and jumped down.

“Oh god, she's not going to make it,” Aradia gasped, following her with worried eyes. But Vriska swung on the rope, flew between the bars of the second tower and landed on the roof of a house without a hitch. She rolled the rope up, hid it inside the arm and saluted at them.

“Wow,” Karkat said in awe. “Is she secretly a circus acrobat?”

“She's a pirate,” Sollux said. “Just a newbie though. But frankly, I don’t want to see her grown up.”

Dirk felt like his fingers were frozen to the antenna, and if he tried to pry them off he would leave a thick layer of skin on the metal. He regretted not wearing the coat, because the thin t-shirt did nothing to protect him against the wind, and his skin was quite embarrassingly covered in goosebumps – although at least he didn't take it as badly as Eridan, whose pale skin turned practically blue.

Dirk knew trying to climb down the slippery ice cold tower was a death sentence, the chances of getting down in one piece were low, and he would try it any other time, but right now the most important thing was helping Jake and he needed all of his friends.

"It's okay," Jade reassured, still squinting through the binoculars at Bec. "Bec's got a plan."

Karkat took a break from explaining Terezi the parts she missed to mutter some choice words about how trusting dogs will get everyone killed and how he expected at least one of them to come up with a levitating spell.

Meanwhile flares of white flames lightened random parts of the city and Dirk knew Hope started its "cleansing". This was when he realized he was glad Jake's soul was so magical that it ensured he wouldn't remember any of this. He would hate to learn he might have hurt some innocent civilians, even though it was not his fault. A tiny part of his mind was also glad to use it as an explanation to why Jake couldn't overcome Hope's control – after all, Dirk kind of hoped he would do it for him or Jade, even though he knew it wouldn’t make sense.

"Look," Jake nudged him, and he saw a huge air balloon approaching the tower.

"So this is your dog's rescue plan? Oh, wait, dogs can't have rescue plans, how did those bullshit words ever escaped my mouth," Karkat said, but Jade just smiled at him.

"I told you Bec would help us," she said, straining her ears to hear Bec’s faint barks.

Four barks, then three, then two, then four again. J – U – M – P.

"He wants us to jump,” Jade sounded the proudest Dirk’s ever heard.

“Yeah, great, you're welcome to go first,” Karkat said with the voice full of sarcasm, which of course Jade took completely serious.

“Alright, we'll just have to show you it's safe. Ready to make this jump?" She asked Dirk, as if inviting him in a bounce castle.

Yes, it was insane and terrifying, but Bec was smarter than some people, and Dirk knew taking care of Jade was practically in his blood.

The wind tore Jade’s long hair violently, and her bright green eyes behind round glasses watched him intensely, without a shade of a doubt – and at that moment Dirk realized it clearer than ever before: Jade was the kind of person capable of leading people into the brightest future. If only she was given a chance.

So he accepted Jade's outstretched hand, trusting her and Bec’s bond completely, and on the count of free she wrapped them in a shielding charm, and they took a step towards a large colourful spot underneath them.

The wind, more freezing than the metal construction they held on whipped in their faces, turning Dirk's insides into icy jello, and before they knew it, they smashed into taut fabric of the balloon, so hard that Jade's spell broke.

They slid off it in different directions, and Dirk hit the ground, katana's handle digging into his shoulder blades painfully after he fell on his back. He glanced up at the tower to see small figures of people and regretted not savouring the moment, because surviving a jump from an impossible height was definitely on his bucket list.

He stood up as swiftly as his bruised body allowed him to, and closed his eyes to shook off the momentary dizziness. Jade was already hugging Becquerel tightly, and she offered him a hand for a high-five.

“The dream team has done it again!”

“Now you need to do the same spell for Karkat and Terezi,” Dirk said.

“And also Sollux, Megido, and Ampora. I hope you are not suggesting we leave them there to die?” Her voice got a threatening edge.

“Of course not,” Dirk sighed. As much as he despised them, his resolution of becoming a worthy person and not a killer included saving as many people as possible, even if they were bad people.

Jade raised her hands, saying an incantation, and the air quivered around the balloon as if there was an invisible fire, and soon the rest of the people joined them on the ground, trembling both because of cold and performing an extremely exaggerated version of a trust fall.

“Hmm, I hope the guy Bec stole the balloon from will forgive us...” Jade said and clasped her hands. She looked at Karkat and Terezi, pointedly ignoring the others. “Anyway, let's go save my brother!”

Karkat opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, but Terezi grabbed her sword tightly.

“Alright, where to?”

Dirk looked at the smoke rising over the city, and remembered overseeing the city from above and pointed at the direction of the fire that appeared the last with confidence.

***

The small park was ablaze, and Jade summoned the water from the ocean to put out the biggest fire. Conjuring so many powerful spells one after another drained her energy; she was exhausted and was no longer walking in front of the group, instead letting Dirk lead the way.

They knew they were on their right way when they saw Aranea sitting on a pile on benches torn out of the ground, combing her hair, looking incredibly pleased with herself. She has changed into a dress suitable for a royal ball – dark blue, extremely puffy, decorated with pearls and lace, and it stood out against the general miserable surroundings covered in smoke.

Vriska came out from behind of one of the fires, wearing a deep scowl.

“It's impossible to reason with her!” She threw her hand up. “Aranea thinks she's going to become a queen of the spirit world, just look at her.”

“Any chance of forcing her to read to spell?” Aradia asked.

“So far, no. Although I still can't grasp why do we need to shove Hope back inside the garnet.”

“Because we don't need spirits in human vessels,” Eridan said. “Also because Fef would be disappointed if it doesn't go according to the plan we were preparing for so long.”

Vriska rolled her eye, “Right, all of this is happening for the sole purpose of impressing your girlfriend.”

“She is not my girlfriend,” Eridan said arrogantly. “Our relationship is far more complex than this. You’re simply unable to understand it.”

“In other words, she doesn't _want_ to be your girlfriend.”

“Sorry to steal your spotlight, Vriska,” Aranea cut in before Eridan could snap back, “But I'm going to rule the earth now. All of you are going to regret not being nice to me. Especially you. Remember all the times you used to pull my hair or break my glasses when we were children? Remorse might help you.”

Jade knew they had to convince her to read the counter-spell, but she had no idea what else could they interest her in – what could compare with ruling the world for a person like this?

“I propose a duel,” Dirk said suddenly. “You and me. If I win, you say the counter-spell. If you win, you get to rule the Earth or whatever.”

“Dirk, what the hell?” Jade hissed, pulling at the edge of his t-shirt.

“I have to offer her something she thinks will be easy,” he muttered back, and Jade bit her lip, agreeing with the ‘easy’ part.

While she thought most of Jake's concerns about Dirk came out of nowhere, this – the fact that he couldn't use magic yet fought with magicians – was the only one she agreed with.

Aranea raised her eyebrows. “You do realize that I'm a magician and you are not.”

“I do, and I don't care. I could beat you up even if you had the powers of all twelve spirits,” Dirk shrugged. “But of course if that's too much of a challenge for you, I understand.”

This got her, because she clicked the box with the jewellery shut and got up, fixed the fancy dress.

“Fine. No one else is allowed to intervene. Vriska, give me your sword.”

“No way, it’s mine, you have your own!”

Without turning to Vriska, Aranea summoned the sword; it slipped out of furious Vriska's grip and landed in Aranea's gloved hand.

“Shall we begin then,” she said and cast her first spell so fast Dirk could barely parry it.

Jade knew he was doing this to buy her some time so that she could search for Jake, but she couldn't leave him. So she simply had to look out for every blow, calming an itch to go and help him, although he was doing a pretty impressive job repelling all the blows. Of course, even though Aranea was a magician, she only had ten days to practice, while Dirk relied solely on his swordfighting skills, which he perfected over the years.

“So, are we supposed to just stand here and watch?” Karkat asked.

"You can entertain yourself by trying to decide whom to root for," Aradia said.

Jade watched anxiously as Dirk dodged Aranea's spells, sidestepping around her and trying to hit her from behind, only to be met with her shields and new attacks.

"Who wants a hotdog?" Sollux asked. "I saw a stand nearby."

"I do," Eridan and Aradia said in unison.

"Count me in!" Terezi added, and Karkat looked at her in shock.

"Terezi!! It may be poisonous!"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to poison your food," Sollux said with a huff.

"Terezi, you've just fought the guy like twenty minutes ago!"

Terezi shrugged. "Yep, it was fun and it left me hungry."

Dirk's sword was met by Aranea's shield again, and before she could create a new attack, he managed to slide close and hit her stomach – she merely uttered another spell making her wound heal instantly, and grinned maniacally.

A wave of warm air hit Jade, and Bec growled at the spirit landing nearby, apparently attracted by the commotion, and she flinched.

“Are they fighting for me?” It asked, voice slightly amused.

“You wish! They are fighting for Jake,” she tried to stare it down.

“That's fairly interesting. Reminds me of the good old days when we made magicians and peasants fight to death... It was so hilarious.”

Hope's voice was musing, as if it recollected a fond memory, and Jade glared at it, angry at how calmly it observed the scene.

"Oh, come on, Jake, you love Dirk, you can crack that spirit control like an eggshell! I know you've recognized him at the tower!"

But there was no sign of recognition, at least Jade couldn't see any in that blinding heatless light.

"The spirits are able to understand human emotions, but we can easily elect to ignore them," Hope said. "I know how this human feels about him and about you, but it doesn't affect me at the slightest."

Jade sighed. On the plus side, the spirit wasn't a mindless killing machine, perhaps they could come to an agreement.

"Maybe you'll be a good spirit and let my brother go," she suggested in the most polite tone. "I know you can do it, Light did it with Rose."

"Light did it, huh. I wonder what kind of game Light's planning… Too bad I was never, how do you say it, _its bff_ , like Time," Hope mused and leaned against the railing. "Do you know what's the difference between a free spirit and a spirit possessing a human's body?"

"You can't use your whole power this way and you are much smaller," Jade replied, feeling a little superior.

“When a spirit possesses a human, it is granted access to said human's mind and knowledge. That's how we know the concepts your world operates on and can use the language you speak,” the spirit's sigh came out as a wave of warm air that made Jade's hair stand up. “Once I return to my true form, the connection to Jake English's unusual desires and ways of thinking will be lost. I don't want to lose it.”

Jade could pull her hair in frustration, and even Bec let out something like a dog scoff. “Are you trying to make me feel _sorry_ for you?”

Hope folded its wings so that now they were wrapped around its body. “Is it working?”

“No! Of course it doesn't!” Jade paused. “Is this why you are talking to me, and not attacking, like other spirits?”

“There are several ways in which I differ from my comrades. I find humans fascinating, and not in the way Mind does, mind you. That's why I was called Hope, I seem to give humans some sort of believes. I mean, look at this woman! She thinks I am going to make her my queen and we will rule the world together. Where did this come from, I don't even know," he chuckled. "It's like she doesn't know Space won't allow me to have a whole world to myself. But I suppose compared to all the spirits I am, as people of this century say it, _like, totally chill, yo_.”

Jade rolled her eyes. "Nobody talks like that, you idiot."

She would probably find Hope really funny if it wasn't Jake's body it was possessing.

Dirk and Aranea were still dueling – he couldn't even get close to her, all kinds of magic protected her, and she even manage to keep the silk dress without a scratch (some fabric-restoring magic was at work, Jade was sure of it).

The only other people invested in the fight were Bec and Vriska. The latter looked from Dirk and Aranea, lips pressed in a thin line, apparently conflicted about whom to support.

Dirk's blade whooshed in the air, slicing some strands of Aranea's hair off, she growled and sent a bunch of fireballs his way. He patted down his burning shirt and dodged another attack, this time his blade swept so close to Aranea's hand, Jade thought he might win.

“He is good,” Hope approved. “I can see why Jake English has affections for him.”

“The reason Jake loves him is not because he knows how to fight,” Jade remarked. Maybe it was one of the reasons, but certainly not the main one.

“Why then?”

The spirit's voice was full of curiosity and desire to understand, and it melted something in Jade's heart – for exactly one second, because then she remembered that it was still a stubborn, murderous creature possessing her brother's body.

“Scan his brain or something,” Jade grumbled, turning away.

The spirit fell silent, and she flinched at the thought that it really was scanning Jake's brain.

Suddenly Dirk called for her, and she saw him throwing Aranea's sword that plunged in the stone right where her hand was a second ago.

“I can still level you with the ground without a sword!” Aranea snarled; finally, she seemed to have some visible damage: her dress was torn and scratches covered her arms.

“Try me,” Dirk answered and flicked his fingers at Jade behind his back, motioning her to look at the sword.

She saw that the tip of the blade pinned down a piece of paper; she unfolded it and with a wave of relief realized Dirk managed to snatch Aranea's original spell. This made sense, seeing how Aranea's promise didn't seem reliable.

“I've made up my mind,” Hope said suddenly, and Jade threw the paper behind her back quickly. Judging by muffled _ouch_ , she hit Karkat; she could only hope he'd figure out what to do.

“Are you going to leave my brother alone?”

“No, I am going to be a generous spirit and present Dirk Strider with a gift."

Hope's wing extended and threw Aranea off Dirk like she was a rag doll, wrapping him firmly and dragging him closer, while Aranea fell on her back.

All kinds of horrible scenarios about a possible "gift" that of course will result in disaster rushed through Jade's thoughts, and she tried to grab the wing. But the bland white light turned into blazing fire the moment she touched it, and she let go with a cry.

Dirk raised his sword, aiming to cut the wing, but the spirit used his moment of hesitation to knock the weapon out of his hand and wrap him so tight he couldn't move a limb.

"This isn't fair!" Aranea yelled hysterically, and Jade thought she wasn't addressing the discontinued duel as much as the fact that Hope wasn't interested in her anymore.

"What do you want from me?" Dirk snapped, inclining his head to avoid being touched by the second wing.

"I want to give you a gift, Dirk Strider. You are a good fighter," Hope said with something that could be interpreted as a dreamy sigh.

Dirk sent Jade a confused grimace.

"I can enhance your soul with magic," Hope continued, and Dirk dodged the second wing again.

"No thanks, I'm good. If you want to give us a gift, leave Jake alone."

"Jake, Jake, Jake, is this all you two ever talk about? Besides, his soul is so comfortable, I don't want to sit in the garnet dirty with rectum stuff again," Hope complained and shook Dirk slightly. "Why are you denying my gift? If you become a magician you will be unbeatable. In the old days humans would cry and kiss the ground I walk on to have such an opportunity."

"I would refrain from the ground-kissing part," Dirk wiggled in the wing. "Get your feathery ass away from my soul."

Behind her, Jade heard Karkat consulting quietly with Terezi, and remembered that Terezi did translations, meaning she could make the counter-spell. Vriska was arguing with Aranea, but Eridan and his team were quiet, probably listening carefully and fishing for new information.

"Oh, I get it," Hope said slowly. "I know what you are trying to do... And – take it as a compliment – I'd hate to be your victim."

It dropped Dirk and he grabbed the sword immediately, rubbing his forearms that now had bright red marks.

"But, of course, it means I have to stop you. I can't betray my brethren."

Hope straightened, and its wings soared up in the sky; its mouth opened, revealing black fangs and Jade saw a ball of light forming there. Bec reacted before she could process what it meant and pushed them away from the beam that exploded the spot they were standing on. Jade put a shielding charm around herself and Bec immediately and saw Terezi and Aradia doing the same for Dirk and Karkat, as well as Eridan and Sollux respectively.

Karkat took the paper with hesitation and read the spell, Dirk yelled "Jade!" and threw her a half of Terezi's sword. Jade knew what to do; she dodged the new beam of light and plunged the sword from behind, while Dirk did the same from the front.

The spirit screamed in agony, the light became unbearably bright, so bright Jade thought they could be blinded, but when they opened their eyes, it was gone, and Jake was back with them in one peace.

"Oh thanks god," Jade breathed, feeling an enormous weight being lifted off her shoulders.

He was unconscious and his shirt was ripped and stained with blood from the gunshot, but there was no wound anymore.

"He seems alright," Dirk said, sounding relieved; he checked the pulse on Jake's wrist, held his glasses over his mouth and nose, and was satisfied to see the lens getting coated with a thin layer of mist.

"Let Karkat through, he is the doctor," Terezi said, kneeling next to them.

"I'm not, I've been training for only a week," Karkat grumbled, but examined Jake anyway. "No signs of physical damage, don't worry. But maybe you should worry about them?" He stuck a thumb behind his back at Eridan and his retreating group; Vriska was holding Aranea's hand firmly and scolding her loudly.

"It doesn't matter, trust me," Dirk said quietly. Jade noticed that he was still holding Jake's wrist. "You heard them, they don't want to release any spirits before the big day. Maybe we should follow their example before the police catches us."

Terezi huffed. "Yeah, right. Once the underlings began popping up in Fenestram the police gave up."

“Still, saying outside is fucking ridiculous,” Karkat said, cringing at the blaring sounds of the fire fighters' alarms. “We can offer our house or a hospital.”

“No, we'd be better off in the dirigible,” Jade said, supporting Jake's head so that he won't lie on the ground, and Dirk nodded.

Bec picked up the garnet Jade managed to forget about and put in into her hand.

***

When in the dirigible, they settled Jake in his bedroom.

“So, when do you think he will wake up?” Jade asked, settling on the floor nearby.

Dirk shrugged. Terezi spent a whole night being unconscious, but it could be tougher for Jake – according to what Jade told him about her interactions with the spirit, Jake's mind was under a more severe attack.

After a mere hour of his unconsciousness Dirk started getting really nervous, even though rationally he understood that a period for restoring an organism's health barely passed. But, as he's already found out, when it came to Jake, he could say goodbye to all his traditional rationality.

He also thought that there was no point in waiting any longer – once Jake woke up Dirk would have to tell him his biggest secret. He had to admit, he was kind of scared of the upcoming moment of the big revelation. He didn't know how to tell the truth in a way that would make everyone happy; he was never good with words.

Jake would know what was the right thing to say.

There were so many things he had to say, and even more things he wanted to say – there was a tiny nagging voice in his mind repeating _confess, confess, confess_ – and it was temping, but Dirk was certain he made the right call.

Karkat and Terezi kept them company for a while, mostly because they wanted to interrogate them about the future. Dirk told them about Viceroy's commune and the fights with the spirits, but they seemed more interested in Kankri Vantas.

“If he is my grandson, does it means I have a kid? Like a son, or a daughter?” Karkat asked, sounding lost, as if he’s never heard about such a phenomenon before.

“I don't know, we didn't ask Kankri about his parents. But they were dead, most likely.”

“Yeah-yeah, we get it, everyone was dead,” Terezi said, waving her hand impatiently. “Were there any Pyropes? Latula's kids maybe?”

“We didn't ask,” Dirk said.

Terezi tsk'd and shook her head. “So insensitive.”

“I hope you telling us this wasn't a grave earth-shuttering mistake, because what if now I want to name him Bob, not Kankri, it's ruin time and space and the apocalypse will come,” Karkat mused, glancing at the safe were the paradox cube was kept. "Bob Joe Vantas," he said, as if trying the name out. "Has a good ring to it."

Terezi hit his arm, "Don't ruin your future grandson's life!"

They didn't even ask what would happen if the cage breaks.

“It's a good thing you didn't accept Hope's _gift_ ,” Jade said later. “I did some research, turns out in the old times it was like a jinn, granting wishes but twisting them in a way that made people suffer.”

Of course, this wasn't why Dirk refused, but elaborating would mean Jade asking unneeded questions, so he simply said, “Yes, it's a good thing.”

After they left, Dirk and Jade contacted Rose, who was now back in Avis, to ask her about the progress on the ritual of closing the portal.

 _Kanaya and I are very close to a break-through_ , she wrote. _The original spells you brought from the future aided me a lot. Don't worry, I will be on time before the barrier wears out. My condolences about Jake, tell him I'm interested in learning his experience._

They took turns in looking after Jake for the rest of the day, while also looking out for unwanted guests, like Eridan or Aranea, but no one came.

Perhaps, Eridan was planning a secret ambush; after all, Jake from the future said that energy harvested from ten vessels was enough to open the portal.

He couldn't stop thinking about the moment they were in the edge of the universe, and if he interpreted it correctly, Jake and he both wanted the last thing they saw to be each other. That made him sure that this feelings might be reciprocated, despite the fact that Jake ignored all of his hints, or laughed them off, or told him that he was his “bestest friend”…

Dirk kind of wanted to consult with Equius and Nepeta on the matter, to ask them how they could go from being nothing but friends to having a daughter. Although their situation wasn't a correct representation of Dirk's own; after all, Horuss and Meulin said that it was an accident and even though they decided to bring up Felice together, they agreed that romance didn't work for them. But there was literally no one else to talk to about this – well, maybe Rose, after all, she was a therapist. But the mere idea of needing a therapist was preposterous, so he dropped the subject altogether.

The uncertainty surrounding this made him even more nervous, and with an uneasy heart, he went back to working on the portal glove, occasionally asking Jade to enchant some parts of it; while Jade submerged into reading the books from the future.

The sense of impending doom was breathing down Dirk's neck.

He knew it was going to end soon, and there was no reason (other than selfish desire) to postpone the inevitable.

***

When Jake woke up, the moment he opened his eyes, he was attacked by Jade, who shouted, “Thanks god you're alright!” and crashed him with all her weight, while Bec licked his face.

He saw Dirk over Jade's shoulder, wearing a concerned expression, and smiled at him.

“Of course I'm alright, why wouldn't I-”

And then memories of the gunshot, Aranea and the diamond rushed to him all at once, and his hand darted to his stomach automatically.

“Holy macaroni, I've been shot!”

But there was nothing, no blood, just a clean bump of scarred tissue that looked like it was several years old.

He tried to sit up, but his vision went black and his head went dizzy immediately.

“Maybe you should lay down for a while,” Dirk said, voice concerned, and Jade nodded, pushing him down.

Jake wanted to say he was fine, because he really was, but he would be lying if he said their care wasn't extremely pleasant and flattering.

And then a much more important thing came to his mind.

“So I was… possessed?”

Jade hesitated.

“Uh, yes.”

“No one's hurt,” Dirk added, getting right to the most worrying issue.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief.

“How much do you remember?” Jade asked.

Jake's racked his memories, but the last thing he remembered clearly was unbelievable pain as Aranea pushed the garnet inside the wound, and after that he blacked out.

“Nothing,” he shook his head. “What happened?”

As Dirk and Jade retold the events, Jake tensed every time they mentioned the spirit – he was afraid he'd do something terrible, but was relieved to know the trouble was avoided. He was glad to hear Aradia's words about the more magical you are they more spirit incorporates in you; laughed at the way Hope talked and admitted he was the coolest spirit so far; and felt a mix of awe and concern when Dirk told about the duel with Aranea.

“Are we flying somewhere?” Jake asked.

“No, we are still in Fenestram,” Jade said and threw a comforter over him. “I thought motion would prevent you from resting properly.”

Jake threw a quick smile at her, and turned to Dirk, who was kneeling next to him. As usual, his mind noted how attractive he was off-handedly, and how any accident that brought them closer together should be considered great.

“Do you need anything?” Dirk asked.

“Tea would be welcomed,” Jake didn't really want it, but seeing Dirk fuss about him was just so nice.

Dirk touched his shoulder briefly, and made a motion to get up, but Jade stopped him.

“It's okay, I'll go get it,” she said, sending Jake a wink and a sly smile, and disappeared in the corridor. As soon as she did, Jake threw the comforter off – it was getting hot.

“Are you sure you're alright?”

Dirk was still tense, that's why Jake made sure his voice was as lighthearted as possible when he said, “Of course.”

He rummaged through his pockets and retrieved a piece of metal.

“Look!” He showed Dirk the bullet. “I was afraid I've lost it accidentally.”

Now that the fear and pain passed, the gunshot seemed like a fun adventure, something to add to the list of life's events.

“You wanted to keep it?” Dirk asked.

“Yeah,” the bullet spun in the air, suspended by magic. “Maybe I'll weld a wedding ring out of it.”

A picture appeared in his mind in a second: he marries Dirk, putting a bullet ring on his finger, and Dirk chooses something else of personal emotional value… maybe he could cut a piece of his sword to make the ring.

“Why would you want a wedding ring made out of something that almost killed you?”

“I don't know. As a symbol of being alive?”

Their eyes locked, and Jake stared at Dirk's orange ones, unable to look away, noticing the underlying sadness in his features.

“Sounds good,” Dirk said finally, and gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

***

By the end of the day, they got a stream of messages from Rose, who said she finished working on the ritual to close the portal.

“So, what does it mean for us?” Jade asked. “What's the plan?”

Dirk studied the last piece of paper rolled out of the transmitter.

“The plan is to wait for September the 25th, the day when the barrier breaks down and the portal opens. We have five more days, we'll meet up with Rose by then and will be able to throw all the vessels in the spirit realm and lock it up for good… Ampora's vessels too, they'll definitely show up.”

“Five days, and it's over, that's great!” Jake pumped the air, even though thinking about the barrier breaking made him nervous – and because he didn't want some aspects of this adventure to be over. Like Dirk.

Jade pushed Jake down to recline against a set of pillows.

“You should lie down and get better,” she said firmly.

“I'm fine, Jade, honestly!” Jake protested, and she didn't budge.

“You've been shot, and then a spirit has been ransacking your brains, you have to get rest.”

Jake sighed and leaned on the pillows, smiling despite himself.

Yes, many terrible things have happened, but…

He brushed his fingers over the scar without thinking, and suddenly the memories of his stomach being torn apart flashed in his mind, and he flinched.

However, he was quick to put on a smile again, just so his friends wouldn't have to worry anymore.

***

After several hours Jake got tired of lying motionless. However, he still felt exhausted, even after he got up, like he didn't sleep for two days straight, so he decided to make some coffee in hopes of giving his brains a jolt.

Jade and Bec have left to get supplies, Dirk was busy working on the portal glove, so Jake poured enough water for one cup, and set the kettle on the stove.

He turned and flinched, because suddenly he was nose-to-nose with Dirk; it was so surprising he almost knocked the kettle off. The guy could certainly walk quietly.

“Oh, hi, Dirk,” he said, and turned the gas on as an excuse to turn away and hide his face, flushed from their unexpected close proximity.

“Jake, we...” He hesitated, and when Jake looked at him, his expression was strange, so strange that he couldn't describe it with a single word.

Dirk inhaled deeply.

“We need to talk.”

“Alright,” Jake said, slightly cautious. “Is it about the spirits? Should we wait for Jade?”

“No, actually I waited for Jade to leave, because this should stay between us. At least for now,” the last words were muttered so quietly, they were barely audible.

“Oh, okay,” Jake said, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. He leaned against the counter, grasping its edge for support. “Spill.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I said that it's one of my favourite chapters, and this is why:  
> 1) The return of my faves Karkat and Terezi + their character development compared to the last time we saw them  
> 2) The return of my fave Aranea  
> 3) Hope  
> 4) Both exchanges about the bullet  
> 5) Lowkey despair  
> 6) Bob Vantas
> 
> Fun fact: June the 7th is Waoheas Day, that's when the events of the fic begin.
> 
> I didn't want to make any more pauses, but now I think maaaaybe I'll take another break, because if you look at the title - Calm Before The Storm - you may guess that it means the storm is coming next. The next chapter is pretty tough to edit. But who knows, maybe I'll have time during the week. It's just a warning, I'll keep you updated.


	15. Heartbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the truth is finally revealed, and Jake stops harbouring illusions.

Dirk fiddled with the shades he kept in his shirt pocket, as if he was unsure what to say. He was still wearing the unfinished portal glove, fixed firmly on his hand.

Jake was filled with jittery excitement – could this be the moment he was waiting for? The moment when everything changes and becomes amazing?

"Alright. It's about the theory I've told you about, the one where I said your grandparents wanted you to find the vessels."

A smile slipped off Jake's face, disappointment weighing it down.

Of course, his dreams were too good to be true.

"You and your conspiracy theories," Jake shook his head and rubbed a hand over his eyes. A little bubble of hope popped and suddenly he felt tired again.

He tried not to sound too disappointed – after all, it wasn't Dirk's fault that he didn't confess his undying love.

“It's not a theory anymore,” Dirk sighed. “Just think about it, what do all the places where the vessels were have in common? You.”

Jake hummed and checked the water in the kettle. Still not boiling.

“First of, Doom… Well, perhaps this one isn't demonstrative. And frankly, I haven't figured out what's Egberts' deal with Breath was, it's not like they could keep it a secret forever from the Harleys... But Blood, Hope, and Mind are all in Fenestram, the town you visited.”

Jake shrugged. “Everyone in the Empire have visited Fenestram at least once.”

“But Blood was hidden in the cave you studied specifically. And Light belonged to Tentacle Therapist, a person you know your grandparents were in cahoots with. Rage was in Rima, where you spent the first year of your life. Void and Life were in Sandford, of course they knew it was Jade's dream job. To find Heart, I bet we need to visit some other important place for you. And what about Time, that was kept literally in the place your mother owned?”

Jake was frowning during this whole speech. It all made sense, but at the same time… Viceroy's words echoed in his head, _Mr. Strider has a talent_ _for convincing people._ That's how he convinced Viceroy to join in on his suicide mission, by offering evidence that sounded logical but was _wrong_.

And at the last part Jake threw a finger up victoriously, because he spotted a flaw.

“Ha! That's where you're mistaken, if you remember correctly, we didn't find Time in the Felt, because Mom got rid of it! If she was in on this plan, she wouldn't do it. Also, you forgot to mention Space, we don't know where it is either.”

Dirk wanted to protest, and Jake thought that perhaps he was merely stressed because of the spirits ordeal, so he spoke in a calm, comforting tone.

“I know you are trying to find an underlying stratum of additional meaning for everything, and I appreciate your intelligence, but sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence," he gave a tiny smile. "Like I said before, it doesn't make sense because if Grandma and Grandpa knew about the vessels because they would've told us.”

Dirk looked conflicted, so Jake added, “Maybe you should get some sleep, it's been a tough day. You won't think these things in the morning.”

Dirk's jaw set, and he shook his head. “No, I've waited long enough. I think your mother knew, but didn't support this plan, and I also think we know where Space spirit is, in Jade's and Bec's souls. Also, Bec is immortal.”

Jake stared at him, and a crooked smile tugged his lips. “You are joking, right.”

But Dirk's determined expression didn't falter and didn't show any sign of humour.

“I know it's hard for you to accept-”

“Yes, because this can’t be. Bec is immortal? Come on, that's just silly,” Jake interrupted, frowning deeply and turned away to check on the kettle again.

“Think about it!” Dirk followed him. “You said Bec almost raised you, right?”

Jake let out a short laugh.

“It is just an exaggeration, mate, our grandparents raised us, Bec was just around the whole time.”

“And,” Dirk countered, “you said your grandmother called him Halley, which means he lived with her long enough to get used to one name and was smart enough to learn what it means to change it.”

“Well, I...” Jake didn’t really know how to respond.

“An average lifespan of a large dog is thirteen years, Jake,” Dirk said firmly. “Bec is _a lot_ older than twenty.”

“So what,” Jake said stubbornly. “We took care of him, he is a long-liver.”

“And he is intelligent, a lot more intelligent than a regular dog could ever hope to be. As if... he has wisdom of two thousand years inside of him, that allows him to learn the meaning of humans' speech and traditions?”

Jake just shook his head silently. He wanted to laugh, because this was the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard, but couldn't find willpower to even smile.

“And he is invincible. Immortal, one could say,” Dirk continued.

Jake desperately searched for ways of protesting that didn't involve any iterations of the phrase “you're wrong because you're wrong”, and finally found one.

“There is one huge discrepancy – living creatures can't be vessels, everyone knows that!”

“Not unless the spirit was split into two parts. I've thought about it a lot, and studied the theory of soul magic in the future, and this is the most likely explanation. Jade must have gotten the lesser part, maybe 25% of the spirit, because she is human, but animal minds are simpler, that's why Bec could hold the other 75% without it destroying him,” Dirk talked fast without letting Jake insert a word. “That explains everything, including their bond and why Bec always follows her around.”

 _Bec did always listen to what Jade said, ever since she was born_ , Jake's mind supplied a memory helpfully, but he shook it off.

“It's just because she loved dogs.”

“Or does she love dogs because her soul in literally connected to a dog?”

Dirk was being ridiculous, and Jake didn't know what else to say but, “You're being ridiculous. Jade is just Jade, and Bec is just a dog, and they've never been anything else. Trust me, I've spent my entire life with them.”

Dirk sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Your naivety is sometimes fine and comes from a good heart, but when you purposefully ignore real life in favour of having your head in the clouds, it stops being cute and charming and becomes dangerous ignorance.”

Jake just shook his head again. He really didn't want to argue with Dirk, and for a moment he thought about simply agreeing with for the sake of dropping this ridiculous conversation, but then, with a horrifying chill running down his spine, he realized that this theory was implying that if Jade and Bec were vessels, they have to be thrown in the spirit portal with the rest of the spirits and sealed from this realm.

“And in the future, did you really think that Jade, _your Jade_ , could ever be the first victim? She and Bec weren't killed, their souls were torn out of their bodies, that's all. Mr. and Mrs. Harley knew about it, of course they did-”

“You are talking nonsense,” Jake interrupted. No, this wasn't the time to back off. He had to keep fighting till Dirk saw how wrong he was, Jake couldn't allow him to think the salvation lies in harming Jade and Bec.

“I asked them,” Dirk said, expression regretful and almost pained. “Remember? When we were in the past, indirectly, of course, but they basically confirmed my suspicions. Your grandmother told me… she told me, _Tell them when they are ready_. I thought about what counts as being ready, and I figured, three days prior to opening the portal is a good date.”

Jake couldn't find words for several moments.

“She… really said that?”

“Yes, it was second to last thing to piece the puzzles together, the last being-”

“You should have told me right away!” Jake exclaimed. “She is my dead grandmother, I have the right to know every word she says!”

“And I'm telling you now,” Dirk said calmly. “They knew, they tried to get you prepared… I heard it myself, the stories they told you, about self-sacrifice and other valuable life lessons.”

“So what? These are regular stories parents tell their kids.”

“No they are _not_ ,” Dirk pressed, and Jake felt a wave of anger rising inside.

“How would you know?” he snapped without thinking. “Are there any more epiphanies you want to share?”

“Feferi Peixes, Eridan's boss, also knows about this. And she is your far-off relative.”

Jake threw his hands in the air. This was incredible.

“And what kind of thought process led you to this conclusion?”

“The birth records I found,” he retrieved a journal in a grey cover he was always seen with and showed Jake the pages with names connected by crudely drawn lines, including Jake's and Jade's. Some photos were attached as well, and Jake recognized the yellowish pages from the Sandford archive.

“I followed her family tree, she is related to Harleys, even though the connection was well hidden. And you know what's the weirdest thing here? Not the fact that there never were any twins or even siblings in your bloodline, and in a rare case there were any, they died before they turned one year old. Actually, I think there were others, but they were killed and kept off records, and Feferi's ancestors somehow managed to escape. But the weirdest thing is that her records are relatively new, as if someone put them in some time ago, someone who wanted you to find them. Now, this part will sound tough, but you have to believe me. Remember, you said that magic inheritance was like reincarnation? The spirit vessels were supposed to be indestructible, but Jade isn't immortal, so I reckon that's her soul that gets passed between generations. And that's why they only ever had one child in one generation, so that the soul will be contained in one person, and not spread into several parts, and if some parents accidentally had two or more children they got rid of the extras, see, this makes perfect sense! That's the fate your parents tried to save you from, they thought one of you must be killed, because everyone was brainwashed into thinking it was something normal, so they went against this plan, but for this betrayal they got killed by your grandpar-”

“SHUT UP!!” Jake yelled, fists clenching on their own, the family trees crumpling mercilessly. He could believe any nonsense, even that Bec was immortal, but he won't listen to a word of saying his grandparents were killers.

“You told me my job was figuring stuff out – that's what I am, that's what I made myself to be, so that's what I'm doing,” Dirk said, his mouth pressing into a thin line.

“Don't you dare accuse Grandma and Grandpa of anything!” He took a deep breath, calming himself down. Dirk was simply delusional, all he had to do is get some rest and then he'll stop think these stupid things. “I don't want to continue this conversation.”

“But it's just so obvious, Jake! Let's discuss this calmly, starting with the facts we know for sure. Your grandmother's diary contained information about the changed symbols, correct?”

“I know your schemes!” Jake interrupted. “You’ll trick me into agreeing with a bunch of cockamamie bullshit again, just like you did in the future!”

Dirk sighed, and Jake felt irritated because he couldn't understand why the hell he sounded so regretful – if saying this caused him pain, why couldn't he just stop?!

“I don't denounce the good things they did,” Dirk said, “I'm asking you to pay attention to other things, the ones I suspect they dedicated their lives to!”

“You don't know them,” Jake growled. The desire to protect his grandparents' memories shut down everything else in his mind, raising as a typhoon ready to destroy anything in its way.

"Guys? What's going on?" Jade opened the door and settled the bags of groceries on the table. Bec carried a bag as well, and opened the fridge, setting in inside – perfectly normal dog behaviour, not magical at all.

Jade looked at their expressions carefully and frowned. "Why are you arguing?"

Jake tried to signal Dirk to keep his mouth shut, but it was too late.

"Yours and Bec's souls are vessels for the spirit of Space."

Jake closed his eyes. This is it, Dirk told Jade, no turning back.

A grin slowly spread across Jade's face. "Heeeey, you are pranking me, right? That's a good one!"

"No, Jade, I am serious. I have proof," Dirk said and retold her everything about Bec.

Jade just snorted and began unpacking the bags.

"You are overthinking it, Dirk. Look at Bec, he's a just a regular dog, nothing magical." She patted Bec on the head. "And Jake, relax, you look like you are going to shit a brick. You can't take any of this seriously."

"I don't!" Jake exclaimed. "You haven't heard what he said about Grandma and Grandpa."

"What?" Jade frowned.

Dirk sighed. "I simply said that they've been arranging his events since the dawn of time, and went as far as killing your parents, but-"

"Don't. Say that," Jade's eyes narrowed and the bag in her hands ripped.

Dirk made a helpless gesture.

"Obviously, I didn't mean they killed them with their own hands, I bet if you ask anyone who used to work for SkaiaNet, like the Midnight Crew guys… Shit, I should have interrogated them for more intel when I had a chance," Dirk trailed off, and this was the last straw.

"Stop it, stop talking about things you know nothing about! Like it's just a sick game or a fun mystery you want to solve, like they are not real people!"

"That's not what I think, I understand how you feel about them-"

"Do you? Do you really? How can I expect a man how hates his own brothers and can’t even talk about his parents to understand family matters!" Jake shouted.

Dirk turned to Jade, but before he could say anything, she snapped in an icy tone, "You should stop talking about our grandparents this way if you want to continue being our friend."

Dirk ran a hand through his hair in an exasperated gesture.

"Fine, I'll drop the topic of the Harley bloodline, but _the least_ you can do is to believe me about Bec being an immortal vessel of Space, because we don't have a lot of time and this is crucial to our mission, and this concerns your life, Jade."

"Jade's not a vessel, I would've known it, and Bec is not immortal, this is dumb, stop saying that he is!" Jake exclaimed, while Bec looked at them at the sound of his name.

Dirk raised his hands, his mouth opening soundlessly, and then dropped them by his sides.

"I see," he said slowly. "You can't believe me unless you have tangible proof, okay. I will have it."

With a swift move he snatched a gun Jake still carried around strapped to his thigh, aimed at Bec's head and fired.

Bec's shriek was cut short and he dropped on the floor, and Jake's blood tuned to ice as he watched a pool of scarlet blood spilling out of his cracked head, and Jade's bloodcurdling scream that no human should be capable of producing reverberated from the walls like a blaring alarm. She flew up to Dirk and slapped him with such force he stumbled backwards, crashing into a wall; the photo frames scattered of the floor, glass flying everywhere, the wall cracked as if struck with a hammer, and Jade’s hand was blazing with white light.

Jake stood still, paralyzed with shock, while Jade tried to hit Dirk again – he caught her flailing arms, grabbed her chin, and forced her to turn her head around.

"He is alive, look!"

And indeed, with even more shock, Jake saw Bec rising from the pool of his own blood on shaking legs, the hole in his head healing before their very eyes. Bec shook his head once, as if trying to get water out of his ear, and when he looked up, there was no sight of a gunshot, the wound grown with new fur – a tiny patch of white against wet redness that was dripping off the fur to the puddle on the floor.

"Believe me now?" Dirk asked, releasing Jade; she ran to Bec and took his head into her trembling hands, checking for any damage, tears flailing down her cheeks.

Bec growled at Dirk, standing in front of Jade, protecting her – the person possessing the other half of his soul.

Dirk was still holding Jake's gun, and Jake was talking before his brain could process what just happened, only aware of horror and anger suffocating him.

"What if you thought Jade was immortal, would you blow her head up too?!"

"I would never shoot Bec unless I knew with one hundred percent certainty he was immortal!" Dirk raised his voice too.

"What if you were mistaken about Bec!"

"But I wasn't! "

Jake laughed shortly, on a verge of hysteria. "Goodness gracious! You are – you are always so self-confident, you think Jade and I are so stupid-"

"I don't think that!" Dirk snapped. "I'm just better at figuring this out because I don't have unconditional love to get in the way like you do!"

"Figures, you've never loved anyone!!" Jake glared at him.

Jade was hugging Bec and sobbing.

The kettle was boiling and the water was splashing onto the stove.

He didn't care.

"I am telling you all of this because I care about _you_ ," Dirk answered with a hardened glare. "I don't understand why you can't believe me; you've literally just _witnessed_ Bec, who might be the _only_ immortal creature in existence, rising back from the dead with your own eyes. Just yesterday you were saying you should listen to me!"

"I guess it means I was wrong, I should have never listened to you!" Jake mind went blank with vengeful desire to hurt. "Especially – especially when you said you wanted to join on the travelling."

"If I remember correctly, it was you who asked me to join."

"Everyone makes mistakes,” Jade spat out, standing up. Her glare was cold, the hem of her skirt was soaked in Bec's blood and stuck to her ankles with a wet sound.

"I can leave you alone, if that's what you want,” Dirk said flatly. “I guess protecting memories of the dead is more important for you than protecting the world of the living. Even if those dead are generations of killers.”

"It takes one to know one!" Jake said before he could stop himself – and regretted it immediately. Words are weapons, and he picked a shotgun.

Dirk's expression went completely blank; he unlocked the chain with the Void ring and threw it on the table.

"I suppose it's time to say goodbye then," he said, but there was no reply except for the hissing stove. "In all fairness, I knew this is how it's going to end-”

“Oh of course you knew, whatever bullshit happens, you always say you knew, because you can't – you can't just admit that you were wrong, and the future me was right, I shouldn't – and you –”

Jake pressed a hand over his mouth to stop the word vomit, inhaling deeply, his chest heaving painfully.

Bec's blood was everywhere, and he was afraid actual vomit will come.

Dirk looked at him in silence and took the sword and his coat.

“I won't go on a killing spree, don't worry. If that's what you want, so be it, but please, read my journals. Everything you need to know is in them. Good luck."

The front door of the dirigible slammed after him.

Jade was still holding on to Bec, very much alive, and Jake's brain was slowly catching up with what happened. He looked at the ring, and squeezed his eyes shut, because the sight was unbearable, allowing a hurricane of emotions to overcome him, anger, pain, fear, guilt, regret all swelling inside, unsure which one should dominate.

***

"When does the next train to Avis leave?" Dirk asked, approaching the ticket booth. The words were coming out automatically, detached from anything.

"In thirty minutes," the cashier said.

"One ticket, please."

There was only one direction left for him to go.

He patted the pockets of his coat and realized he left the wallet at the dirigible.

He wondered what Jake was doing right now – perhaps erasing Dirk's belongings from existence, not that there were too many. Or maybe comforting Jade, telling her it's going to be okay, continuing being in denial.

The thought of them still believing this even after having proof presented on a silver platter sparked annoyance in him – which was quickly replaced with disgust with himself.

Dirk thought about returning to Jake and trying to explain everything once more; but he remembered fury twisting his features, and knew – there was no other way.

At least he told them everything. If it makes them think about the situation, there was some use to it.

It went a lot worse than Dirk expected – he hoped they'd argue a bit and then all agree that his theory was correct and continue working together to solve the problems it arose; but he didn't assume that after everything they've been through Jake and Jade would still be so attached to their idolized memories.

Another idea he had was to give the journals with all the information and leave without saying a word, just to avoid this confrontation – but he couldn't risk it, he had to be sure Jake and Jade knew everything and didn't ignore the obvious.

And he always knew this was going to end like this, because he was always ruining everything. He should have never ended up with them. Joss and June never planned for their grandchildren to have an outsider as a companion.

Dirk remembered Anna Ryer's empty grey eyes, so unlike her son and daughter, and a bullet in her head.

Maybe a bullet to Dirk's head would be the best solution for him.

If he were to choose the way to part with Jake, it would be something like what he offered to do in the future – going out in a heroic blaze of telling the truth (he worked hard on this theory, uncovering deeply buried strands of information; why couldn't they just listen?), not with Jake hating him.

Maybe it meant that being right and being smart wasn't what's most important – it certainly wasn't the most crucial thing in keeping a relationship.

He shook his head and pulled out a fake ID card Kanaya gave him out of the inner pocket – he has always knew the fact he has always carried it around would pay off.

"Official business," he told the cashier in the haughtiest tone associated with government employees, and received a respectful nod and a ticket.

He could turn around and go back – but there was nothing waiting for him anywhere, as usual. Jake had his journals, where every single thing was written, highlighted in various colours and accompanied by bullet points. Jake, Jade, and Rose had enough knowledge and power to form a sufficient team to find the remaining vessel if the need occurs and close the portal once it opened. Nothing has changed since the moment he visited the future – he was still expendable. The only difference was that Jake didn’t value Dirk’s life anymore.

He wondered how Rose would react. For some reason disappointing Rose was almost as bad as disappointing Jake and Jade.

...Almost, but not enough.

He was still wearing the unfinished portal glove which made him remember the time machine (and standing at the edge of the universe with Jake, thinking they were about to die, or about to kiss), and he wished he could turn back time and make the conversation go some other way – even though he had no idea what words he could chose to make everything milder. Jake and Jade would react painfully to any accusation of the Harleys.

Like he said, he's always known this conversation would be the end of everything. That's why he postponed it as much as he could, until there was no time left.

By the time the train arrived Dirk was sure this was for the best. Jake and Jade were smart and knew magic better than anyone else in the world, they will find a way to save the world and themselves without interference of an outsider.

He pressed his forehead to the cool glass of the window, eyes resting on the pitch blackness of the night, and touched the place where Jade hit him, feeling deep cuts, half-heartedly wishing he would never met them. If nothing had been created in the first place, nothing would be ruined right now.

***

"Oh, Jake, what do we do," Jade asked. She was hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.

"I don't know," Jake said quietly, twisting a ring in his fingers, their fight weighing him down. "I guess he'll never come back."

Jade glared at him. "I meant about the spirit of _Space_. If Bec... If Bec really is immortal, it means my soul is... The vessel too?"

Her voice cracked, and Jake reached out to squeeze her wrist.

"Oh, um... I'm sure it's going to be okay, Jade, we will throw all the vessels into the portal and you and Bec will stay behind, that's all."

Jake knew he sounded insincere, and frankly, he hated himself for his thoughts being focused on Dirk and how different it could have gone, rather than on Jade.

Jake gave himself a mental slap; he should stop thinking about Dirk, he couldn't think straight when it was about him.

"But our goal was to get rid of the spirits completely," Jade said quietly. "Besides, if the barrier breaks, what will happen? You said that in the future its power released all the spirits from their vessels... Will Bec and I... die?"

She looked at Jake, but he didn't know what to say.

Jade gulped. "I guess the only way to stop it is for me and Bec to go inside the spirit realm and seal the portal-"

"No," Jake said firmly. They will find a way to fix it, some impossible way he couldn't think of right now.

“I have to, Jake,” Jade said. “If we seal the portal with Space left on our side, all our work will go to waste. I'm fine, I'm not even scared, honestly,” her lips were tugged in a shaky frightened smile.

A sickening memory of their grandparents telling them a fairytale about self-sacrifice came to mind, and Jake shook his head.

“No,” he repeated. “We are going to do something… Fix this, somehow. There is always another way out.”

Jade looked at him sadly, clearly not believing a word, and hugged Bec tightly.

Jake looked for Dirk automatically, expecting him to say something clever, before remembering he wasn't there anymore – because Jake's hurt him in the worst way possible, by calling him a killer.

He looked at drying blood covering the floor, Jade, and Bec, and frowned.

No, that wasn't right. Dirk wasn't with them anymore because he shot Bec and said those horrible lies about Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa. It was just like the future him warned, he acted cruel and almost inhuman.

Although if he came back and apologized Jake would be more than happy to talk, to forgive and set things right, the way they were before.

But maybe this is what future Jake meant by focusing on saving Jade, only Jade.

"Come on," Jake said, standing up and holding Jade's elbow; she was still in shock and complied without a word.

He led her in her room and Bec followed – Jade's hand never left his head.

When she settled on the sleeping bag, staring into nothingness, stroking Bec's ears absent-mindedly, he exited, clicking the door shut; and then, after a moment of hesitation, put an impenetrable cage around Jade's room.

After she couldn't see him anymore, Jake rushed to read _Power Of A Soul_ frantically, hoping it would have a spell to cure the spirit presence – but all it had was some barely comprehensible gibberish.

***

When Jade found out about the cage, she was furious.

"Jake, let me out!!"

He heard a loud bang on the wall separating Jade's room from the kitchen, where Jake was, which indicated that she tried using magic to break the cage. But Jake was confident in one thing: he was a better magician.

"Sorry, Jade, it's for your own good, it'll keep you safe," he said, closing _Power Of A Soul_ he's been studying for hours and settling on the bean bag, using it as a pillow.

He pushed a plate with cookies and the book opened on a correct page under her door, and immediately heard a sound a shattering china.

"Read this spell," he said. "I will help you stay intact."

The closest thing he could find was a spell that put the borders on a soul to prevent it from being, as the book phrased, “poisoned by the darkness.” It wasn't much, and if Jake was honest with himself, doubted it would prevent Space from taking her soul, but he wasn't about to voice his doubts.

"Just like the cage will keep me intact?!" Jade shouted and slammed her body at the door in hopes of breaking it; with no avail.

Jake did his best to ignore her shouts. He couldn't bear go in his own room yet, because there were still signs of Dirk's presence everywhere. Of course, he could get rid of them, but... he couldn't.

He didn't know what to do.

He didn't know what was the right thing to do anymore.

He tried not to look at the photograph of the four of them hanging on the wall.

Jade swore loudly and attempted to bust the side of the dirigible open, however, her attempts were fruitless.

Jake turned on his stomach, pressing his face into the bean bag, and thought that what he was doing was for the greater good.

Even if it did, apparently, turn him into his future self.

And it was so much worse than seeing the world collapsing.

He wanted to hate Dirk, but...

 _What if_ _everything_ _he said_ _is true?_ A tiny voice suggested.

Jake frowned. It couldn't be true, but... He's already made several mistakes by not thinking about possibilities. The least he could do was _toy_ with the idea that Dirk's version _might_ be possible, and do some critical thinking.

After all, he trusted Dirk, no matter what. He was smart and able to get a grasp on certain things nobody else could. Of course, there were things he was mistaken in, like distinguishing between genuine care and tricks. Jake knew their grandparents truly loved them, their trips to the past proved it (they refused to tell the whole truth; Jake, an expert in hiding unpleasant truths from people he cared about, knew what it meant), and besides, if they really wanted one of their grandchildren dead, nothing was stopping them.

It wasn't brainwashing, he was sure. It was... simply conviction. Very strong conviction.

***

When Jake woke up from sleep he didn't remember falling in, dim light of an early morning was illuminating the control panel.

Soft footsteps echoed in the corridor, and for a moment, he thought he'd dreamt them – but then sat up with a jolt, thinking Dirk came back. But he had to fall back down on the bean bag, because Dirk wouldn't show up unannounced, he would've woke him up and they'd talk and say sorry and reconcile and then say sorry again...

It must have been Jade who has figured out a way to break the cage after all.

Jake didn't have enough energy to lift his hand, let alone checking the integrity of the cage.

"Jade, go back to your room," he said, words muffled by the bean bag he was lying face down on.

The footsteps came to a halt, and then drew closer to him – too light for anyone he knew.

"Jade?..." He asked, alarmed; and when he sat up he ended up face-to-face with an unknown woman.

He didn't have a chance to reach out for magic or his pistols before she sprayed something in his face, and darkness swallowed him.

***

A trip from Fenestram to Avis was a relatively short one, mere thirty hours, and Dirk has never felt more exhausted.

He desperately tried to stop himself from thinking about their argument with Jake and Jade, but it was ever so impossible, and his words replayed over and over like a broken record.

Seeing the Centaur Technologies building lightened by the sun high up in clear blue sky was almost a relief – he could go upstairs in his old room, preferably without being noticed by Dave, Dane, and Nepeta, then find Equius, who won't ask any questions and tell him to inform his brothers they are free to leave.

Yes, a perfect, fool-proof plan.

That went down the drain as soon as he grabbed onto a stone sticking out of the building's wall to climb up to his window.

"Dirk!" Nepeta exclaimed and pulled him inside the workshop, hugging him tightly. "How are you? Why didn't you warn us you were coming? Although I understand, your mission is secret, yadda-yadda. How is the spirit stuff going? Where are your friends?"

"Someplace else," Dirk said, resigned. The least he could do right now is play it cool and sneak upstairs the first chance he got.

"Oh, I take it the Empire is safe for now?" Nepeta laughed, returning to an accounting book she was writing in. "How long will you be staying?"

"A long time."

"Good, good," she said absent-mindedly. "What's that glove on your hand, a new invention of yours? Equius would love to see it."

At the mention of Equius's name her whole demeanour changed and she gave Dirk a mischievous smile.

"You wanna know what he did yesterday? He asked if I would like to have dinner with him. So I said, we have dinner together every day, genius. So he was like, I meant eating out, like in a restaurant. I was like, okay, why not. And he was like, you'd better wear some rubber boots and a warm coat with your fancy dress too, because after that we are going to the riverside in the evening and stargazing at night. I was like, hmmm, that sounds familiar, did you take it from the "50 Ideas for a Perfect Date" guide? Also, does it mean you are asking me on a date? And more importantly, why the hell do you have that book? He was like, maybe, we've been living together for fifteen years anyway. I was like, whatever, you have a point, it's not like I have any other plans. We agreed to go today," she laughed again. "I mean, that's so weird, I've never even thought about him this way, but he's right, we've been friends since forever, so who knows what it's going to end up with..."

He smile was so contented that it raised a surprisingly strong wave of jealousy and resentment in Dirk.

"In three years you and Equius are going to have a daughter named Felice," he said, getting up and all but fleeing upstairs, followed by Nepeta's confused, "Felice?"

He threw Dave's records, spare socks, and random photos of birds off his bed and flopped on the covers, grabbing a random soldering iron and plunging it into the portal glove, just to be busy with _something_.

"Hey bro, what's going on?" Dave asked, standing in the doorway with a dish towel over his arm.

Dirk sighed internally; he should have barricaded the door.

"Everything's fine, you can return back to Canteth now," he answered.

"So your spirit's hunt over," he looked around the room. "Where are your... teammates?"

"Went home, I presume," Dirk shrugged as nonchalantly as possible.

There was a long pause, and finally Dave said, "Is this it? You are not planning on sharing any details about the final battle, sealing portals of whatnot? Not even any hot gossip about the future and parallel universes Jade summoned Bro and Equius to help her with?"

"Just leave me alone, Dave," Dirk threw the glove on the bedside table.

"Fine," Dave's lips formed a thin line. "If you think I'm gonna be the one to do the dirty work of getting metaphorical pliers out and prying information out of you because your high horse is too high to tell us mortals anything yourself, you are terribly wrong. Whenever you feel like pulling your head out of your ass full of drama, come talk to us."

The sound of the shutting door was surprisingly quiet.

***

Dave must've told everyone to leave Dirk alone, because nobody bothered him for the rest of the day, except for a couple of messages via the pneumatic system that he ignored. Dirk was grateful for that, and it made him wonder if he was being too hard on Dave – his brother still did something in his interest even after all the shit Dirk's put him through.

Dirk melded two last wires together and a spark of blue energy ran through the glove, indicating its capacity. He has successfully eliminated the system's need of a paradox to power itself up, and instead substituted it with a regular magic source, like the ones that were used as a standard fuel for all the machinery in the future. Since the glove was going to control space only, this should be enough.

But the usual feel of pride and triumph of the new accomplishment never came, and Dirk laid it onto the bedside table, staring at the ceiling and feeling emptier than ever, as if a glove has accidentally created a hole in time and space right inside of his heart.

Dirk Strider, a champion of turning everything to shit faster than a horse riding a jetpack.

He should never be allowed near a human being.

God, he was pathetic.

A bell on the front door rang, and a familiar voice cut into the melancholy.

Dirk strained his ears to make out the words.

"Hello? You must be Dave, I don't believe we've been introduced yet. My name is Rose."

"What's up, Rose," Dave replied, curiosity clear in his voice.

"Did you have any news from your brother recently? A ciphered message, a telegram, anything?"

"No secret messages needed, he's upstairs in one piece. But beware, he's behaving like a teenager who's been dumped by his first boyfriend."

The door to Dirk's room busted open almost a second later.

"Dirk, what are you doing here?" Rose said, and Dirk couldn't bear looking at her, she was just another reminder of everything he lost.

"This is my room, I should be asking this question," Dirk replied flatly, not looking at her.

“It's about Jake and Jade," Rose said in a tone that suggested she was questioning his sanity. Not that he could blame her. "I haven’t heard from them in several days."

“Oh, they’re probably too invested in travelling and didn't find time to send you a message,” Dirk felt sort of bitter resentment mixed with guilt at the thought of the two of them having fun together, unspoiled by any thoughts about the spirit of Space.

"I kept writing you about new developments in my research, but haven't heard anything back."

Worry jolted his insides, but he still replied stubbornly, "They must have destroyed the transmitter."

“I see,” Rose replied fell silent for a second – a then a stream of ice cold water was dumped on Dirk’s head.

“What the fuck!” He screamed, falling out of the bed, clothes soaking wet, and glared at Rose, who was holding a small thundercloud she's just created.

“Ha-ha, do it again!” Dave exclaimed in delight.

“Stop moping, Strider,” her voice was like steel. “Or I swear to god, I will do worse than a bucket of water!”

Dirk sighed, flipping his wet hair back.

"It's over, Rose,” he replied through gritted teeth. “I will help you and tell you everything I know, but I'm not in the spirit business anymore."

Rose coughed pointedly. "Uh, let me repeat it one more time. I haven't had an answer from Jake and Jade for two days, even though the subject matter is so important they are bound to answer. Now, what on Earth can be keeping you here, preventing you from gasping in horror and spewing out a million plans for how to find them?"

“They hate me, okay?" Dirk snapped. “They both hate me.”

“What?” Rose was visibly taken aback. “The last time I checked English was drooling and gushing all over you like you were some kind of a saint. You’d have to be blind not to notice it... Actually, it’s understandable, seeing how you refuse to take off those tacky shades.”

Dirk wanted to roll his eyes. Was it really time for Rose to make sarcastic jokes?

"I highly doubt it, Rose. They hate me after I shot their dog."

"You shot Becquerel?" Dave asked. "Wow, you really are an asshole."

"Shut up Dave, I would never shoot him if I didn't know he is immortal."

Dave raised his hands. "Hold your horses, immortal, the fuck do you mean?"

"I think what we all need is learn what happened from the very beginning," Rose said, tugging Dirk's sleeve and pushing him out of the room. "Come on, it seems you've been canned up in here for so long, you forgot how to care for people."

Retelling the details of the argument was embarrassing, but Rose was a good listener. She listened carefully, never showed any emotion, and stopped Dave and Nepeta (and later Dane and Equius) from interrupting.

However, talking without any judgement really cleared Dirk's head, and in the end he asked, alarmed, "Do you reckon someone found out about the Space vessels?"

By someone he meant Eridan, even though he was sure Jake could beat him with no effort. But at the same time Feferi Peixes was an unknown figure, she could be stronger than anyone else... Dirk felt a stab of guilt again; he should have never left them.

"I think there is a possibility," Rose said. "The only way to know is to go to Fenestram and search for clues of where they could go, and we need to do it quick."

"We can help cover all the possible places," Equius said.

"But every trip will take a couple of days minimum, how are we going to manage it in three days?" Nepeta asked.

"I think I have something to assist us," Dirk said. Little by little, his life was stopping being pointless. Now he had a mission.

Rose couldn't resist a gasp when she saw the glove, and her reaction somehow rekindled some of the pride he usually experienced.

"You finished the portal glove!"

"What's a portal glove?" Dave asked.

"Something that once used to be a time machine," Dirk said, putting it on and punching the Fenestram coordinates in. "I haven't tested it though."

A vacant black hole appeared, and Dane let out a low whistle, which made Dirk even more proud – it wasn't usual for his older brother to be impressed.

"Future technology is awesome!" Nepeta said, and before anyone could stop her, she jumped right into the portal.

A second later she emerged soaking wet and spitting water.

"It works, but you'd better adjust your aim, it leads right into the ocean."

***

Senses came back to Jake slowly, and when he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying on the ground. Pebbles and dry grass were digging into his check, and apparently, his arms were tied behind his back by strong magic, because he couldn't break it no matter how much he tried.

When he heard voices, he had enough consciousness to do the smart thing and remain still, pretending to be out and getting a chance to eavesdrop.

"-how much time it will take," Aradia was saying.

"I'd rather not ask him unless breaking his spell on our own will be proven completely impossible," an unfamiliar female voice replied.

"We can always just blow it up," Vriska suggested. "I mean, if she dies, her soul will just be transported into the nearest living relative, which is English, right?"

"I would prefer there not being any unneeded victims, we've had enough of those," the unknown woman said sharply. “But if this is the only way-"

"Don't do that!" Jake yelled. He thought he'd be able to jump up, conjuring a couple of spells in the process, but all he could do was flop on his back like a fish out of water. Magic didn't come to him either; the ties wrapped around his wrists must have been enchanted to prevent him from doing any kind of magic.

At least now he had the chance to look at their new enemy. It was a small woman with long wavy hair and huge brown eyes – her face would be kind if it wasn't for the tense lines around her mouth. He recognized the same woman whom he saw in the dirigible.

"Mr. Jake English," she said, her eyes narrowing when she looked down at him. "It's about time we get properly introduced. My name is Feferi Peixes, even though I don't believe this name tells you anything."

"It does," Jake said through gritted teeth, sitting up in a more dignifying position.

"Oh?" Feferi looked genuinely surprised. "So when June and Joss told you about me, did they mention my mother too?"

"It was Dirk who told me about you, not Grandma and Grandpa," Jake barely resisted the urge to thump his head into a nearest tree. If only he believed Dirk, or at least was clever enough not to argue with him so much, he would've been here, everything would have been easier if he was here... Because right now Jake had no idea what to do.

"Told you he was smart," Vriska said proudly, as if it was her personal accomplishment. “Told you we should've recruited him.”

"Any sign of the infamous Mr. Strider?" Feferi asked, turning away.

"Nothing, Fef," Jake has just noticed Eridan, who was standing aside with Sollux. The latter was wearing quite a resigned look. "Should we check his home?"

"No, it will take forever. Forget about him for the time being."

Jake sighed; at least Dirk was safe. This left just Jade, Bec, and him, and it seemed they still couldn't break the spell Jake put around them. He couldn't help but feel proud of his magic.

"Now, English," Vriska lifted his chin. "Either you break your curse or we will force you to break it."

"Vriska, stop it," Feferi said in an authoritative tone that made it clear why everyone listened to her.

"Yes, boss," Vriska replied and stepped back reluctantly.

"Where am I?" Jake asked, looking around – there was nothing but generic forest without any landmarks visible.

"Somewhere where nobody will think of looking for you," Feferi said without a smile. "I've never been more grateful for your grandparents' rule of never bringing outsiders into your family – if you managed to drive the person you got closest to away, I doubt anyone will come searching for you."

"Why are you doing it?" Jake asked, staring at the stern brown eyes behind pink glasses.

"Because your family is the reason I still have nightmares about the day my mother was burned alive in the house they set on fire," she said coldly. “I was supposed to burn there too, but Eridan and I sneaked out to collect shells on the beach that night… And when we got back we saw the fire, and I found my mother suffocating in the smoke, only able to find her last breath to give me her parting wish… The Harleys have been escaping unpunished for too long. It's payback time.”

"You are lying," Jake said helplessly, trying not to focus on the cold feeling of dread settling in his heart, even though he already knew the answer. Somewhere in the background, Vriska snickered.

"I wish I was. But once your grandparents found out whose blood runs in our family, none of us were safe. The only reason I stayed alive was because the Amporas helped me hide... I was only seven, I couldn't help them. But the least I could do is to continue what my mother started," Feferi said with genuine sadness in her voice and nodded at Aradia. "Make sure he doesn't do anything while I'm breaking the cage."

Aradia stood behind to guard him, while Feferi walked out of sight, presumably to where the SkaiaNet dirigible was.

Jake tried to rip the bonds apart, calling and pulling on magic, but it just didn't respond – he could only hope the protective spell around Jade and Bec will stay long enough for him to think of something.

He squeezed his eyes shut, not knowing where to direct the bitter anger – at Feferi, at Dirk, at himself, or at June and Joss, who lied – but he didn't want to think about it, he couldn't imagine they could ever do something as horrible as destroying a little girl's life...

He nearly panicked, but pulled himself together in the last moment – there was no time for that, and the wisest thing he could do was to accept the truth, no matter how much it hurt.

Jake took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down; right now he was the only one who could possibly save Jade, and after that he would find Dirk and they would make amends.

Because, despite everything, Jake knew he still loved him.

And this only made the fact and subject of their quarrel more painful.

He focused on this, on thinking about Dirk, and Jade, and Bec, prohibiting his thoughts to wander in the direction of his grandparents' alleged crimes – because he knew he'd lose all hope if he believed them, and hope was something they all needed right now.

"How long have I been out?" He asked Aradia.

"Almost a day," she replied. Which meant today was only September the twenty-third.

"Why have you captured us so early? There are still three days till the barrier breaks."

"Why would we wait till it breaks if we can break it ourselves?" She smiled – and wow, Dirk was right, her smile was creepy.

"You can do it?"

"Of course we can, Feferi is a great magician," she said, awe clear in her voice. "She enchanted your handcuffs and levitated your dirigible here. Thanks for keeping all the vessels in one place, by the way."

"After all, she was studying the theory of magic since childhood. And using Mrs. Peixes's knowledge, she finished creating a ritual that will allow us to control the spirits," Eridan added.

Jake noticed that Sollux wasn't too hot on joining their excitement. His frown deepened after the mention of the ritual.

He heard a loud bang and barking, and Jade screaming spells – she must've broken the cage herself for a surprise attack. She hit Eridan and Vriska, but as soon as she raised her hand again, Feferi wrapped her wrists in a thin band of golden flames, and Jade was paralyzed.

Jake jerked upwards, but Aradia held him down; when Bec tried to run up to her, Vriska flicked spells at him to keep him away.

Jake perked up a little – if they treated Bec like this, they had no idea he was a vessel too.

"Hey bro, long time no see, thanks for locking me up," Jade said, but surprisingly, without any sarcasm. "I found a really interesting soul spell-"

But she stopped when she saw Vriska raising her hand with another spell, and yelled, "Bec, run!"

Bec took a few reluctant steps back, unable to disobey.

"Get it, it can alert the others!" Vriska shouted.

"I know what I'm doing," Feferi sounded displeased at Vriska's commanding tone. A collar made of the same flames wrapped around Bec and he growled, stilling completely.

"Now that everyone's in place, we must begin," Feferi said. "I'm asking nicely, are you going to tell me what the second part of the Space vessel is?”

“Never! It's hidden so well you'll never find it!” Jake said, hoping he sounded convincing, but Feferi only shrugged.

“Oh well, it doesn't matter. A portal opened with ten vessels instead of twelve will be shaky, but it will still work.”

She picked a smooth piece of land and covered it in fire, burning all the glass and plants that were there. On the smokey coal, she began drawing an intricate symbol, whispering spells that made every line burst in multicoloured flames.

It seemed to go on forever, and even after Feferi placed the Breath locket in the centre of the symbol, she didn't stop drawing symbols around it.

“Um, how long is the ritual?” Jade asked.

“About ten hours, so you'd better get comfortable,” Eridan replied, leaning against a tree with a bored expression.

Jake and Jade exchanged glances: that was more than enough time to think of a plan.

The first step of the plan was understanding that if their bonds were conjured by Feferi, she wouldn't be able to keep them strong forever: they will wear off with all her focus on the ritual. The second was Jake remembering the laws of magic: the new spells were always stronger than the old ones, which meant he would be the first one to be able to break his bonds.

***

Dirk and Rose passed through the portal and returned back to the Centaur Technologies that has become the unofficial headquarters of the "Find Jake, Jade, and Bec" operation.

As Dirk suspected, they found nothing in Fenestram, not a sign they've ever been there. Worry for Jake and Jade made him all the more determined to find and help them, even if it would be the last thing he would ever do for them.

“It's okay, we have a lot of time on our hands,” Rose reassured him. “When I researched the ritual to close the rift, I found the ritual to open it – it's a long one, especially if the person doesn't have all the vessels. It will take at least eight hours.”

“Let's make it seven just in case,” Dirk said. “That's good, it means we have time to create a plan to cover every single possible outcome.”

“We'll help, just tell us what to do,” Nepeta said, and Kanaya nodded – she joined them recently through the portal to her and Rose's house, bringing half of the library with her to do more research, and was now sitting in a pile of opened books.

“Alright, the first thing we need to do is to ensure we handle the battle on our own territory,” Dirk said, taking the portal glove. “My proposition is using Halitus, like we did in the future, it can be easily arranged.”

“I was under the impression we are to prevent the battle completely,” Equius said.

“Unfortunately, it can't be done,” Rose replied. “The barrier will be broken on its own no matter what, the best thing we can do is to be there and close it as soon as it appears. Which also means we have to be prepared to fight. Mister Zahhak, if you have any weapons you have been developing in secret, now it's good time to bring them out.”

“You must have already started developing the claws,” Dirk prompted, and Equius opened a drawer, handing a single fingerless glove.

“It was supposed to be Nepeta's birthday present, how did you know?”

“I've seen Meulin, your granddaughter, wearing them in the future.”

“Aww, we have a granddaughter? That's so cool!” Nepeta said with shining eyes.

“This is not fair,” Dave chimed in. “You tell everyone about their future except for me and Bro.”

Dirk thought about how they died bearing his name and persona, and decided it was best not to tell anything at all.

“I don't know details about your future because there was no one to tell them. Everyone was dead or,” he glanced at Rose, “the same as dead, except for Jake.”

Dave let out such a contemptuous huff, Dirk had no choice but to inquire, “What?”

“He doesn't seem as heroic as you paint him when you say that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, if you are the only one left alive, that means you allowed everyone else to die in your name.”

Dirk frowned. “It wasn't the case, Jake survived because he was a great magician, unlike the rest of us. He didn't _let_ anyone die, it just happened, and he was very torn about it.”

Dave raised his hands. “Hey, no need to get your panties in a twist, I'm just offering an outsider's unbiased perspective.”

Dirk stared at him, he couldn't understand what was the point of Dave's meaningless accusations; and then it came to him.

“Fine, I get it,” he threw his hands up, "Now I know what it's like to deny everything to protect someone I love, very insightful, Dave. I get Jake's point of view."

Realizing what he has just blurted out, and taking in Nepeta's expression of delight and the way Dave was raising a hand to point a finger at him, Dirk changed the topic quickly.

“There may not be anything interesting in the future for you, but we went to Torpos in the past, before Dave was born, and I've kicked our father's ass.”

Dave sprawled over the table, laughing hysterically, and Dane smirked.

“Cool, you've just earn one hundred redemption points.”

“This is really swell,” Rose said, “But we are getting sidetracked here. Give me that for a moment, please."

She took the claws from amazed Nepeta who kept testing different buttons that made them move out of the glove for a surprise attack, and said a long, complicated spell that made the metal glow green.

"Here you go, I've enhanced their durability."

"Wow," Nepeta said in awe, not looking at anything but the glove. "If you don't mind, I'll be back in a moment, I need to test them on Equius's punching bags."

"Alright," Dirk said, assessing the team that gathered here. "We need to talk disposition. Dane and Nepeta make the first line of hand-to-hand offence, Equius, you have ranged weapons, so you will be in the distance, as well as Rose; I suppose your spells have a wide range of action? I will be defending you while you conduct your ritual, if anything happens to me, Dane will take my place. Kanaya, are you still up to operating that chainsaw?"

Kanaya hesitated. "When brought up the chainsaw, it was mostly to tease you. I don't know how to fight; professionally, I mean."

"That's okay," Rose said, squeezing her hand gently. "Just stay by my side and it will help."

Kanaya smiled in gratitude.

“You forgot to mention me,” Dave added, and Dirk scowled at him.

“Who said you are going anywhere, Dave?”

“What the hell, man? I'm offering to help!” Dave protested.

“You are underage,” Dirk said; he would really prefer Dave stay out of this.

“I will be seventeen in a month! Just because the last time you saw me I was thirteen doesn't mean I stayed this way,” Dave hit right in the bullseye, as usual. Did he attain psychic powers while Dirk was away?... “As you haven’t failed to point out every time we met, Bro and I are not your family. And as a not-member of your family and a mature adult which I am, I am making a decision for myself, which is deciding that this world is a pretty good place to live in, and saving it would be a neat way of spending summer.”

“Dirk, Dave can do whatever he pleases,” Dane deadpanned.

Dirk wanted to protest, to say that sending a minor on a dangerous mission wasn't what a good guardian should do, but he knew it would raise a question of whether he would make a _better_ guardian for Dave – and it wasn't a question he could answer affirmatively.

He knew he was a shitty brother for both Dave and Dane.

“Fine, whatever," he shook his head. "Anyway, our next destination is Halitus Island."

"Yes, about that..." Rose began. "I think we should hold the battle in Sandford instead. You see, I have done some research, and sealing the portal will have a higher rate of success if we perform the ritual in a place where magic first appeared. As you can remember, the first time we could use real magic was inside the illusionary realm in Sandford."

Dirk nodded thoughtfully. "Evacuating Sandford citizens will be more tricky. Oh well, Dave, if you want to help, here is your first task. I need you to go to Halitus and ask John to host the evacuated people. Just tell him you are Dirk Strider's brother in need to cash in a favour, he'll believe you. Dane, Kanaya, go with him for credibility, tell Porrim he's telling the truth if needed," he thought for a moment and added, "When in Sandford, find Jane Crocker and Roxy Lalonde. They will help you out. You have three hours. Meet you in the headquarters."

"Sweet," Dave said, examining the portal glove, and in mere seconds, they were gone.

Rose watched Kanaya going inside the portal with a slight frown, but it smoothed in a moment.

"You two will need to learn to perform a ritual of a binding circle that I modified to be able to contain the battlefield, as well as a basic course of attack spells," Rose addressed Equius and Nepeta. "In case the spirits break free, it will give us a head start, restricting the area of their activity for a while."

"How much land do we need to cover? About a hundred metres?" Equius asked.

"No, that's not enough," Rose replied, unfolding a map of the Empire. "If a portal opens in such a tiny bubble, the concentrated pressure of another realm will simply crash us, like in the future. We will need to cover entire Sandford."

***

The perks of having to wait till the longest magic ritual Jake's ever seen was complete were that their guards lost interest in guarding them before Feferi even finished drawing the third symbol.

Instead, Sollux and Eridan were talking about something quietly a dozen metres away, Vriska flipped through the books and personal things found on the SkaiaNet dirigible with a completely bored expression, and Aradia tried to strike up a conversation with Feferi, who kept telling her off for ruining her concentration.

"Have you thought of something?" Jade muttered quietly.

"Not yet," Jake replied and tugged on his bonds that were still too strong.

"I think you should focus on releasing Bec," she said. "Everyone keeps underestimating dogs, they won't even notice he's gone."

"He could get help," Jake said, meaning, of course, that he could find Dirk.

The question was, of course, would Dirk want to help them after all the horrible things Jake told him in the heat of the argument, while he only wanted to tell the truth. Yes, so he was done roughly, but still, he kept their best interests at heart.

There was no use in protecting their grandparents anymore, Jake thought, they were the past. This place, Feferi and the bonds around his wrists were the present, Dirk, Jade, and Bec were the future, and this is what he should be concerned about.

June and Joss couldn't help him right now. Jake still loved them – it wasn't something he could get rid of within seconds – but he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do anymore.

He kept thinking that if Dirk was here, everything would be so much easier – not because he would've thought of a clever solution, maybe he wouldn't, he certainly wouldn't be able to break the magical bonds – but just because his mere presence inspired confidence.

"Hey, I'm sure we'll be fine," Jade said, smiling at him feebly. She must've read his thoughts. "We've been through so much shit and got out alright, why would this be any different?"

They both knew the answer.

***

As promised, Dave, Dane, and Kanaya returned three hours later.

"We hit some bumps, but overall everything went fine. His highness Mister Egbert was surprisingly eager to help."

"We also picked a place where we can do our magical rituals," Dave added, waving his hands in a way that was supposed to depict performing magic.

"Good," Rose said absent-mindedly, buried in her notes and hundreds of books. "Come here, you will need to learn how to do the binding circle as well."

Dirk and Equius were sitting in the workshop, thinking of ways to transport a large piece of ground to Sandford, while Nepeta practised attack spells.

"I think we should also find the counter-spell that traps Space in its vessel, just in case," Dirk said. The problem was, of course, that the spells were always written on the vessels directly, and there were no weird tattoos on Bec or Jade. Perhaps it was something like a family heirloom, or maybe June and Joss were the first ones to write it down – in any case, he couldn't think of a more obvious place to search for it than Nocteville.

“Where can the spell be hidden?” Equius asked.

“Somewhere in their house, for sure, right in the open.”

Dirk was thinking about Jake, because he seemed to be thinking about Jake every moment for the past two days (or maybe even two months). Now that Dirk was filled with determination, the stream of despising himself for doing everything wrong was substituted with occasional spikes of frustration towards Jake and Jade and their inability to see things hidden right underneath their noses.

Although Dirk guessed it was easy to get used to certain things and stop noticing anything suspicious about them. Perhaps Bec became such a huge part of their lives they simply took his unusual qualities for granted.

All he had to do is empathize with Jake a little: after all this was a feeling he could relate to, sort of. Take Dave, for example; Dirk has never thought his little brother would show such understanding and desire to help despite the danger.

Or his katana, even a better example: it has been with him for so long he's never questioned its amazing durability, an ability to cut through everything, and the fact it never needed sharpening…

Or that moment when it collided with its copy from another universe and the paradox began cracking the space a lot more effectively, destroying the timeline – the strange fact he didn't have time to think about because of various Jake-related reasons – but it was almost as if the collision produced another paradox.

And the timeline never stopped breaking even after they've trapped the paradox cube. Because there was another smaller paradox present.

Dirk sat up straight so fast Dane looked at him in concern.

“You alright?”

“I may be the biggest idiot in the world,” he said, grabbing the katana and a knife. “And also a hypocrite, since I made the same mistake as Jake.”

He began peeling off the paint and the old fabric forming an ornament on the handle.

It was almost no surprise to see familiar ancient symbols engraved in the metal.

He wanted to laugh at his own stupidity – so that was why Hope was so interested in him, because he was drenched in magic almost since the day of his birth.

"Rose," he called, managing to keep his voice steady. "Can you translate a spell releasing Heart from its vessel for me?"

He ran a finger over the symbols; a new, better plan was already forming in his head.

***

An eternity later, after Feferi has drawn the fifth symbol for the ring of Life, she looked absolutely exhausted, and Jake felt his bonds weakening. He still couldn't break them, but at least magic wasn't completely off-limits for him anymore; he could tug on the magic surrounding Bec and with immense relief felt it giving in.

“So, are you going to simply watch as she sacrifices me?” Jade asked, acting as a distraction.

Vriska replied, “Yes, you are spot on!”

Aradia rubbed a hand over her face, muttering under her breath, “Why are we even working with you.”

“There will be no sacrifices,” she explained calmly. “Once the portal opens, the spirits will exit the vessels we collected, and then they will help us search to the lost vessels.”

“And once you find the second part of Space, you will release it as well,” Jade said. “And I will die. See, this is basically a sacrifice.”

Aradia's lips pressed in a straight line, and she turned away to watch Feferi.

“If you just told us what the second part of Space is, it would be so much cooler. It's like their boss, if we put a collar of it, we'll be invincible,” Vriska mused.

Jake concentrated as much as he could and tore the flame band around Bec apart – but as soon as he backed away into the woods, careful to not make any noise, he restored it, conjuring up a coarse illusion of Bec inside.

“Good job,” Jade whispered and winked at Bec who flew into the woods soundlessly, like a ghost.

There was nothing like sitting tied up to reflect on his choices for the thousandth time.

There was a lot of mistakes he made, Jake thought. For example, he kept swearing he won't become his future self, but in the end he did everything he feared. He hoped he will survive to be able to eradicate these shortcomings.

***

One more hour later, Dirk and his small army were standing in front of Jake's and Jade's house in Nocteville. Its size didn't intimidate Dirk anymore, but he felt uneasy, thinking about all the places the Space spell can be hidden.

He could simply leave it – after all, the team was prepared, the spells and magical artefacts were collected, as well as the place in Sandford where the battle should be held, and he could have spent extra time on finding Jake and Jade, as Nepeta kept insisting. But he was set on this mission having 100% probability of success by covering every single possible thing that could go wrong, including a situation where they would have to use the spell.

As soon as Dirk lifted a hand to the doorknob, the door busted open and he found himself looking at the barrel of a gun that pressed right between his eyes. It was a rather uncomfortable feeling, so he dodged the gun carefully and focused on the man holding it instead.

“Oh, it's you,” Spades Slick said, narrowing his eyes at the rest of the group and lowering the gun slightly. “What do you want?”

“To search the house,” Dirk said, regarding the man carefully. If Joss and June entrusted him with taking care of their grandkids, perhaps he knew more secrets than he showed? “Jake and Jade are in mortal danger. Is there anything you were told to hand them around this date? Perhaps a journal or a cipher?”

“Depends. What is this about?” Slick narrowed his eye so much the iris was barely visible.

Dirk evaluated the situation quickly, and thought that saying _'the legend of twelve spirits'_ won't do anything, Joss and June wouldn't let anyone but them know their real goal.

“The Harley legacy,” he said, weighing his words, and Slick nodded, retrieving an envelope out of his inner pocket.

“I was told to give it directly to the heirs, but you will do. Seems like you are not a complete outsider.”

“Not anymore,” Dirk said, and taking the envelope seemed like a ceremony of acceptance into being part of SkaiaNet.

“Just like _her_ ,” Slick added thoughtfully.

There was a date written on the envelope: September the 25th, 20XX. He expected to see more puzzles inside, but the list of paper contained nothing but a translated spell and counter-spell, without any watermarks or secret signs. The boldness was surprisingly refreshing.

He passed it to Rose, and now they were fully prepared for the most important task – actually finding Jake and Jade.

"We know that Vriska's base is in Rima, we can go there first," Rose suggested.

"Okay, but we will split up and visit all the places we've encountered them: Kanaya, Rose and I will go to Rima, Equius and Nepeta will check Careote, Dane and Dave will go to Halitus catacombs. In half an hour I will open the portals again and collect everyone, understood?"

"Yes," everyone enunciated clearly.

After carefully studying the map and closing the portals the others went into, Dirk, Rose, and Kanaya set the precise location of Vriska's house into the glove and arrived right to the front door.

However, inspecting the house didn't give them any clues, except for Kanaya saying indignantly that Vriska could get three hundred years in jail for keeping half of the objects she saw.

Disappointed, but determined, they went out on the street, merging with the crowd that hurried past the freshly painted signs proclaiming “Real magicians” and “Fortune-tellers for 100 pounds an hour”.

"I'm sure she has a secret location somewhere in the city, a criminal of this calibre wouldn't survive without a one,” Rose mused.

“Perhaps we can ask around if anyone knows any rumours?” Kanaya suggested and frowned suddenly. “...Did you hear that?”

“Excuse me, wait up!” A voice shouted over the noise, and they saw Tavros and Gamzee navigating towards them through the crowd.

Rose shifted into attack position immediately, and while Dirk knew they didn't work for Vriska anymore, but held a hand near katana's hilt anyway.

“Are you, by any chance, looking for Vriska?” Tavros asked, panting slightly.

“Yes,” Rose said, regarding them suspiciously. “Do you know where she is?”

“Yes, and we are not going to fight you, promise,” he answered, looking at the sparks on the tips of her fingers with alarm.

“We are done with fighting with magicians, especially since magic is involved,” Gamzee added, looking at them lazily from under the mop of messy long hair.

“And since, um, Vriska said she didn't need our services anymore. We kind of wanted to find you, maybe, but we also wanted to spend the last few days in peace.”

“The fishy boss said the new beginning is going to be today...”

“...But Vriska said it's going to be the end of the world,” Tavros finished. “So, yeah. I suppose we want to apologize for causing you any inconvenience...”

“That's good,” Rose said impatiently, “But the only way to apologize is to tell us where she is.”

Tavros thought for a while.

“Well, when we were still a team, there was one chunk of land Miss Peixes mentioned used to belong to her mother… It's near Crystal Falls.”

He showed the place on the map, and both men threw curious glances at Dirk punching the coordinates into the glove, opening the portal.

They didn't care about other people seeing them – everyone's going to know about magic anyway, once the barrier breaks.

They gathered Equius and Nepeta, looking disappointed at the lack of success, and then Dane and Dave, after saying hi to John, who looked at Dave with such wide eyes, it was obvious Dave talked a lot of hot air about how they are going to save the world from ending.

With having a hundred scenarios of how the battle would unfold and a hundred answers plans to win, now they were finally ready.

Dirk's finger lingered over the button on the glove, and he looked over the group. He had to give them an opportunity to save themselves.

“This is your last chance to bail out,” he said.

“And not to test these in battle? No way,” Nepeta said, flexing the hand with glowing claws.

Equius fixed the quiver with arrows strapped to his back in a way that said he wasn't going to take it off any time soon, Dave huffed and probably performed an epic eye-roll of disdain behind his shades, Dane folded his arms over his own katana, Kanaya shook her head, and Rose stared at him pointedly, raising a single eyebrow.

And suddenly, a strange thought appeared: Dirk realized that people standing in front of him, who've agreed to fight with him, were not his army, but the thing closest to a family. Rose, whom he treated like a sister, which made Kanaya his sister-in-law, Dave and Dane, brothers by blood, and his parental figures, Equius and Nepeta.

But this revelation, like all the rest, could wait.

He pushed the button.

***

Jake wanted to rip his bonds apart as well, but at that very moment Feferi decided to take a break, and he froze with the most miserable expression he could master.

Instead, he decided it's not too late to convince her to stop.

“Why are you doing this, Feferi?” He asked for what felt like a thousandth time.

She glanced at him coldly. “How would you feel if your mother was killed right in front of you? All for the crime of being born? The spirit realm should be restored, just like it was always meant to be, just like Mom wanted.”

“Feferi,” Jake said, thinking about his own believes, so strong mere days ago. “These are your mother's wishes, not yours, and believe me, I know how hard it is to see someone die. And I know how much you want to appease her, but... you have to think for yourself, to follow your own wishes. You are brainwashed to think this is what you really want, just like me – because you were cooped up with nothing but nostalgia and bad memories for so long… I've been through all of this.”

Feferi only shook her head; of course, it was difficult to let go of your brainwashing and even more difficult to accept that your thought weren't your own.

“She has always believed magic existed, but the others only laughed. Her ancestors, who survived only because of a single act of mercy in the past, because of someone deciding not to kill one of the newly born twins which was prohibited, warned her she shouldn't get into this, she could get eliminated if anyone finds out that she is a Harley offspring. But there was nothing more she wanted than to fill the world with magic and let the spirits walk the earth, to restore the way things were two thousand years ago, before little kids were being hunt down for their blood. Someone like her would be an Empress back then, and not a person hiding her real name under an alias, too scared for her daughter's life to reveal her true identity. My Mom died for this, and I'm sorry, but my destiny is to finish what she began,” Feferi said in a cold tone, but her eyes were sad.

“I used to follow our grandparents blindly too, but just because they died for something, it doesn't mean we have to pursue _their_ goals,” Jake said.

He glanced at Jade; she was staring directly into the ground, her lips pursed.

“I know my methods aren't perfect,” Feferi replied. “But I also know there are sacrifices that must be made for the benefit of all humanity.”

“But it won't benefit anyone,” Jake said. “We've been in the future, why don't you believe me?”

“The future can be changed, the number of alternate realities is infinite,” Feferi said, putting an end to the conversation.

Sollux shifted from one foot to another – it was obvious that he wasn't as supportive of the plan as before.

Suddenly the ground shook as if there was an earthquake, and everyone lost their balance, falling on the ground; Vriska swore loudly, barely avoiding being hit by the dirigible that toppled over. Jake used the distraction to rip his and Jade's bonds apart and send a blast of wind towards Feferi's ritual circle, messing up the symbols and extinguishing the fire, while Jade levitated the vessels, throwing them somewhere in the forest.

“What the hell,” Eridan said, staring at the sky, and Jake supported his confusion: the position of the sun changed, as well as the patterns of clouds, that was now partly obscured by tall buildings that grew out of nowhere; but the most unusual thing was the pearly white dome spreading across the sky, ending somewhere where the buildings didn't allow them to see.

“All arms,” Feferi commanded, looking around in alarm and muttering something under her breath after noticing the messed up symbols.

Eridan grabbed his rifle, but just as he placed a finger on the trigger, an arrow flew out of the woods and kicked it out of his hands.

“Pssst, hey, guys!”

They turned around and saw Nepeta peeking from behind a tree.

Jake and Jade approached her while the others were busy deflecting a rain of arrows and spells flying from all directions.

“This is a rescue mission,” she smiled and looked them over. “Although you seem to be pretty fine.”

“How did you find us?” Jade asked, rubbing her wrists that had red marks around them.

“Some guys from Rima told us where Vriska might be, and when we arrived to Crystal Falls, we ran into your dog who led us here.”

Jade beamed with joy and looked around frantically. “Where is Bec?”

“With Dirk and Rose, of course, since they are the leaders of-”

“Dirk is here?!” Jake blurted out, and earned a pointed stare from Jade.

Nepeta laughed quietly. “Who do you think organized all this? Don't worry, the big man will be doing his grand entrance soon. There is literally nothing that can go wrong here.”

Jake couldn't stop grinning, but Jade shook her head.

“I won't be saying so if I were you, Nepeta. All these words do is invite trouble.”

“We have you surrounded,” Dirk said, and Jake's head snapped to look at him immediately, a wave of immense relief overcoming him, mixed with worry, because he was facing Feferi, whose fingers were bent for an attack spell.

Rose was next to him, back absolutely straight and hands prepared; as well as Bec. He glanced at Jake and Jade, waggling his tail, but stood still. Dirk and Rose both turned to look at them as well, giving short nods of acknowledgement before focusing on Feferi and her team again.

"Who is this _we_?" She moved her hand around in a sweeping motion, saying an unfamiliar incantation, and a wave of warm air brushed Jake's hair. "There are only seven people in your team."

"It's not about the quantity," Dirk replied shortly.

Feferi looked unimpressed, and glanced at Bec.

"I suppose this is the answer to how did you find us. But if you think your binding circle is going to protect you, you are mistaken."

"It's not us we are protecting," Rose said. "For as much as you claim to not want any unnecessary victims, you picked one of the most popular tourist places for your ritual."

"This is the best place for it to work. After all, this is where the spirits were defeated and the barrier was established two thousand years ago."

 _Defeated for a reason, don't you think,_ Jake wanted to add, but decided to observe the conversation silently instead, not revealing their disposition.

"Besides, this is not just a simple binding spell," Dirk said, taking a hand out of the pocket and pulling back the sleeve, showing the fully functional portal glove. Jake and Jade exchanged amazed glances. "It's technology of teleportation wired up to a series of binding and protective spells, wrapped around the chunk of ground you are standing on, allowing us to transport you in a location of our liking."

Feferi raised her eyebrows. "And we are in?..."

"Sandford. Don't worry, we evacuated the people," Dirk said, turning to Jake and Jade; his lips quirked in something like an apologetic smile.

"Oh shit," Jade muttered, and added louder, pointing a finger in Feferi's general direction, "If any of you touch the city of my future job, I will destroy you!"

She came out at the open spot before Jake could stop her.

"What future are you talking about, Jade Harley?" Vriska sneered. "As far as I can see, there's none for you."

Jake clenched his fist.

"Maybe it's time you get better glasses then," he stroke the ground where Feferi's ritual circle was, cracking it in two parts. "Your ritual is ruined and you are outnumbered. Give up."

Everyone turned in his direction, and Feferi opened her mouth, but Vriska spoke first, voice low and dangerous.

"You have been in my way long enough. I lost an eye and an arm because of you, I had to work with them," she pointed at Feferi's group, to which Sollux muttered, _Wow, rude_. "I had to listen to her commands even though nobody's the boss of me… And I always get what I want, may I remind you. And right now I want control over the spirit world."

In a motion so fast they weren't able to predict it, she threw up the metal arm, and a short dart blasted out and hit Jade right in the throat.

She grasped the wound, trying to stop the flood; her eyes were huge and she wanted to scream, but could only gargle on blood.

Jake caught her when she fell down, her attempts in pushing cries out of her throat splitting him like a knife, every nerve in his body struck with horror.

"She has a minute till she dies of blood loss. You know what can save her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is starting to come together at last! Now you know why I've always said this story wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Jade.  
> It's time for you to say "Omg I knew it!!" (or "Wtf is going on")
> 
> Also, Vriska mirrors the words Jade told her ages ago, I hope you noticed ;)
> 
> P.S. Dave is still a national treasure  
> P.P.S. I'm crying because I want to tell Feferi's, Eridan's, and Aradia's backstory so much...  
> P.P.S. The year written on the letter, 20XX, isn't a mystery or a riddle: it's me concealing the year, because I didn't want you to connect this story to our time, because it's set in a completely different universe. This is the reason I've never mentioned the year before.
> 
> My tumblr is still [s-opal](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/). Come visit waoheas tag, the summary of Fef's story is there. Plz don't hate me x)


	16. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which [spoiler] and then [spoiler] and after that [spoiler].  
> The end is near.

An eternity passed before someone approached Jake, who was holding Jade in shaking arms, still alive and finding strength to clasp the wound on her throat, covered in insane amounts of blood Jake's never seen before.

Somewhere in the background, separated by white noise of fear, Feferi was shouting at Vriska.

"Jake."

Dirk stood behind and laid a hand of his shoulder, and Jake seized the end of his shirt instantly, the closest steady anchor.

"I'm sorry, but it seems this is the only way we can do it."

He hooked both arms under Jake's armpits and made him stand up – he noticed Bec and Rose kneeling beside Jade, the latter ran a hand over Jade that made her eyes close and the gargling stop; she was holding something like a letter with a broken wax seal.

Bec laid beside Jade and Rose's incantations formed a shining sphere around the two; the sphere grew thicker and thicker until the bodies vanished out of sight.

Jake was relieved to see the ritual in action: frankly, he would let Jade be possessed by all twelve spirits at once if it meant saving her life.

“The dog was the second vessel, who would've guessed,” Aradia said, observing the scene in wonder. “Although I suppose it makes sense, when we researched the information about the magician who originally banished Space into his own soul to keep it hidden forever, it was mentioned he had a d-”

An explosion didn't let her finish.

The sphere blew up and a shock-wave sent everyone flying in different directions. Jake threw a cushion spell on the ground instinctively and tumbled over his head, hitting the ground hard. He disentangled himself from his own limbs and scrambled on his feet, eyes never leaving the place Jade where was. The strands and flares of light dissolved with fizzling sounds like sparklers, and in the midst of it stood a single figure with dark grey skin, extremely long black hair, unnatural green eyes and white dog ears on top.

The wound on her throat was healed, and if it wasn't for blood that drenched her clothes, nobody could tell Jade was ever dying.

Jake was so relieved to see it, he almost snorted seeing the dog ears.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kanaya helping Rose stand up, and they unwrapped the sealed envelope which, as he now guessed, contained the incantation for Space vessel.

“ _Exosis anumus alenus infuria preteriote nosco_ ,” Rose read, but – there was no reaction. Nothing.

Jade snapped her fingers without sparing a glance at her. The paper burst into flames and its ashes fell to Rose's feet, leaving her outstretched hand empty.

“Fef, this is _Space_. We need your ritual,” Eridan prompted, quiet and cautious, and Feferi jolted out of trace she seemed to be in.

“Yes, of course...”

Feferi drew a symbol on the ground that lit up with the same flames she used to bind Jake and Jade.

She cleared her throat and extended a hand towards Jade. “With this, the spirit of Space shall serve-”

Jade, expression unfaltering, lifted Feferi in the air – and snapped her neck with a flick of her fingers, throwing her motionless body to their feet.

Aradia gasped.

“SHE WANTED TO HELP YOU!!” Eridan bellowed, fury twisting his features. He ran up to Jade – Space – and jabbed the rifle right in her chest. “And that's how you repay for all the years-”

His neck was snapped too.

Sollux jerked forward, but Aradia did the smart thing: she clasped a hand over his mouth and dragged him away into the woods, out of Space's sight.

Space looked over the rest of the people, her shining eyes shedding cold green light on her cheeks.

“Everyone else who dares defy me will suffer from the same fate. The rest will be granted an honour of being my servants. Now bow before me.”

Her voice was cold, demanding, yet bore no intonations.

Everyone looked uncertain; the rest of the team that joined them kept looking at Dirk and Rose, waiting for a sign from either of them. Jake glanced at Dirk as well; his lips were pursed together stubbornly, a hand near the handle of the sword.

“My patience is wearing thin. Bow,” Space said in a voice that sent shivers down Jake's spine.

The first ones to comply were Rose and Equius, who bowed their heads slowly, and then the others joined as well, one by one, even Vriska.

Jake lowered his head, making his neck awfully exposed, but Space seemed to be satisfied, because she didn't do anything besides dumping the bodies of Feferi and Eridan on the symbol Feferi drew, extinguishing the flames.

She rocketed up in the sky, sending another shock-wave through the air, and for a moment Jake thought she was going to pass right through the dome, but she merely touched it with the tips of her fingers, testing its durability.

Even on the ground they could hear her growling in disdain, and then she threw her arm down, sending a clot of green fire at the meadow.

Jake shielded himself from the explosion, but it never came – instead, he felt the ground being pulled from underneath his feet, and he flopped around clumsily, suspended in the air. He tried to reach out for a branch, but he's already floated too high, just like everyone else – every single thing that wasn't connected to the ground was dangling in midair. They hung in silence for several agonizing seconds, and then Space threw her arms apart and incredible invisible force blasted everyone is different directions.

Jake slammed into a tree and barely managed to cover his face to avoid being scratched by twigs; his glasses flew off and he felt around the ground for them. There were screams of people he couldn't identify mixed with a deafening crunching sound that meant the dirigible was blasted into smithereens after crashing into the ground. Fire from blown up gas cells wrapped the nearest trees in fierce flames immediately. Jake could only hope nobody got in its way, even Vriska, Aradia and Sollux – they've had enough victims already.

He put the glasses on and looked around frantically, searching for anyone; but there was nothing around, safe for pieces for broken objects fallen from the dirigible.

Space was terrifying, a lot more cold-hearted than anyone else they encountered. There was nothing of Jade left in her – it.

Even though every single encounter with the spirits proved waking her up would be almost impossible he would still try to reach Jade. He remembered himself being possessed – or rather, he remembered his lack of memories – but he hoped Jade's mind would be stronger than his own.

Jake got up and winced – he could barely move, feeling pain in every single muscle and bone.

He applied some basic spells that numbed the pain and stopped the bleeding, and bit his lip. He needed to find Dirk pronto, he could only hope he was alright.

Painful worry dropped like a rock in his stomach: Dirk didn't have any magical means to break the fall. He could be knocked out, or... Jake didn't let himself wander in that direction.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down the sticky fear building up in his chest, and started forcing his way through the branches of the fallen trees.

Pieces of burnt canvas were hanging off the trees, broken china and torn paper were covering the ground and Jake groaned every time he had to climb over another knocked down tree. Space must've thrown him away pretty far; he couldn't even see where the meadow was.

“Jake! You alright?”

He spun around to see Dirk – half of his face was glistening with blood, and Jake flew up to him, grabbing his face and tilting it towards the light.

“Yes, I'm fine, but you're not,” Jake said, examining the cut on Dirk's forehead. It was deep, a huge spot of skin was basically torn out, but Jake managed to patch it up with magic, doing a clumsy job of pulling skin back together.

“My landing was rather unfortunate,” Dirk said, and wiped some blood of his brow with one hand – Jake noticed that the other was swollen and twisted in an odd angle, most likely broken.

Dirk's able hand moved down and laid on top of Jake's that still cupped his face.

They just looked at each other for a few seconds longer, until both said in unison, “I'm sorry.”

Jake laughed nervously and shook his head.

“I should have never left you,” Dirk said, his voice strained. “Look where it got us-”

“Don't be silly,” Jake retorted miserably. “They would've ambushed us anyway. I should have listened to you though, Dirk, I wan-”

A loud reverberating crack interrupted his words.

They looked at the sky and saw Jade's figure, tiny from afar, with her arms spread glowing with green fire that formed a thick wide circle around her. Something glistening attracted their attention and they saw Rose's crystal ball floating from the forest to Space. It landed on the fiery outline of the circle, and the rings of Life and Void joined it next.

Obviously, Space was opening her own portal to the spirit world, and even though Jake was certain the dome could withstand Space's attacks – after all, she didn't break it yet – it wouldn’t be able to handle the flood of magic about to enter this world for too long.

“Shit,” Dirk hissed, and looked at Jake. “Look, we'll talk later, I don't have time to explain, take the portal glove.”

He strapped the glove off his broken arm and practically threw it at Jake.

“You'll be fine, but stay away from me for a while,” Dirk pushed him away and grabbed the sword that started floating upwards, and before Jake could say a word, he plunged the blade right through his heart.

Jake’s own scream mixed with Dirk’s, as he watched in horror as a wet crimson spot blossomed on the fabric instantly; he ran up to Dirk and grabbed the sword handle with numb fingers, having no idea what he was about to do – but Dirk pushed him away with strength impossible for a man who has just pierced his own heart.

The blood around the blade where it connected with the skin started glowing, and comprehension about what has just happened slowly dawned on Jake.

Hypnotized, he watched neon pink light spreading through every vein, glowing so bright it was visible even through clothes.

The light lingered in the injured arm, and with a mix of horror and awe, Jake saw the broken bone click into place with a soft snap, and the swelling was gone within seconds.

The spirit took Dirk's shades off and threw them on the ground, and when he looked up, Jake shivered under the intensity of the eyes that flared purple.

Jake stared, alarmed, but not moving; the spirit slowly raised hands to his face, examining them from both sides, and touched the sword sticking out of his chest. He outstretched a hand in Jake's direction, and Jake flinched; but the blow never came, and the spirit's slack hand dropped down.

“Damn humans,” he groaned and after looking up at Space's tiny figure in the sky and muttering something about helping mistress, he was gone.

Jake swallowed a lump in his throat, still numb and unable to move – not only Jade, now he lost Dirk too.

He pocketed Dirk's shades carefully and moved towards the meadow above which Space was, trying to think the situation through as much as he could.

Dirk wasn't available anymore, so right now someone else had to become detached and analyze the facts.

The last vessel was in Dirk's sword. Was it another secret of his or did he discovered it only recently? Jake would love to ponder this question, but right now wasn't the time.

He glanced up at Space again, and gulped, seeing that she has almost completed her circle. Rose's spell didn't work on her, and he tried to remember if the legend could shed some light – but nothing was said about Space there, only that this spirit was the leader and the master of all the rest. Perhaps that explained her unusual resistance, and they had to find an alternative method of getting her out of Jade, but Jake was at loss there. There _never_ was any mention of anything but the reversal spell to be able to stash the spirit back in its vessel, not even in the future.

Now Jake needed to find Rose or whoever the second in command was in his grand design and warn them about Dirk being possessed by Heart. He shuddered, remembering the blade cutting into Dirk's chest, and wondered what he felt in the moment he decided to do it.

And then another thought hit him like a cold shower – if Heart had access to Dirk's mind, it meant he knew all about their plans, and has already tattled all of them to Space.

Honestly, he wanted to believe Dirk knew what he was doing, but at the same time he remembered the last time Dirk had a masterplan, it almost got him killed.

“Goddammit, Dirk,” Jake couldn't resist saying aloud and gave a heartfelt kick to the nearest tree root.

“Couldn't agree more,” someone said, and Jake turned around to see Dave.

His hair was full of twigs and leaves, and one of the lenses in his shades was shattered, revealing a bright red eye (for one crazy second Jake thought he became possessed too), yet he still managed to look apathetic.

"Hi, Dave," Jake greeted as Dave joined him in the brisk walk toward the meadow. The closer they were getting, the more trees were lying flat on the ground, with their roots stubbed, being unable to withhold Space's powerful blow. "Did your plan involve giving Dirk a dose of spirit power?"

Dave tilted his head.

"Huh, so he went there... I figured he will, since your sister started barbequing jewellery up there," he stuck a thumb at the sky. "Seems like a good time to gather the team and hide behind your back," Dave smirked, as if it was a funny joke.

Jake shook his head. "We'd better get Rose, I may be a magician, but she's a lot better with theory and figuring out a ritual to banish Space."

Dave merely shrugged. "Nah, bro said it should be you. He said he had some super-duper special qualities to become possessed that'll help him be in control of himself, but even with his mind subdued he still won't be able to hurt you because he loves you, all that jazz, and basically we should use you as means of stopping him if he ever gets too far and won't be able to dominate the spirit's mind or whatever-"

"Wait, what?!" Jake threw his hands up to stop him, heart beating fast. "What did he say?"

"Well, basically he suggested using you as a human shield."

"No, about, um, me," Jake spoke quickly, trying to keep his racing heart at peace. "What did he say about me?"

Dave smirked again. "Yeah, we might have forced him to confess his huge obvious crush on you aloud."

Jake wanted to shake him hard. "But what his _exact_ words were?"

Dave arched an eyebrow in a gesture absolutely identical to his brother. "Seriously, the world is about to end and you are asking about words? He said, quote, _I can't harm Jake because I love him_ , unquote, and I was like duh, water is wet, and he said _if there's someone I can break mind control for, it's him_... Why are you looking at me like this? Does it change anything?"

"Oh yes."

Jake straightened his back to look at the fiery circle in the sky, heart pounding in his ears and a grin spreading across his lips. The world was suddenly better, and winning was easy.

"Just you watch me," he told Dave firmly. "I will make sure every single one of us is going to get out of here alive, and everyone will get a goddamn happy ending they deserve."

"Uh, sure man, whatever you believe in," Dave said.

But Dave simply didn't know that this desire and resolve was where true magic came from – because this was what made up his soul. And his soul was the power that always followed him, no matter what the circumstances were.

They stumbled across Rose and Kanaya next, both were frantically flipping through Rose's magic books scattered around after Space's gravity trick. Jake called upon them, but couldn't hear what Rose answered because of an ear-shuttering blast reverberating throughout the woods – he could barely dodge another tree cracking in the middle and falling on him.

They looked up and saw that both Space and Heart were levitating and the circle of ten vessels around them was finally complete.

With a speed of lightning, a vertical beam shot down from the circle to the ground, where the cold green fire was still burning in the meadow. Blinding white light was swirling inside the beam, and then it stretched with a scary low humming noise resounding in Jake's guts, forming a new portal, completely black inside.

An invisible thick shroud covered the meadow, and it was impossible to breathe for a moment, and Jake felt his muscles tensing subconsciously, in response to something h couldn't see yet.

As if the air was charged, Jake thought he could smell ozone; his hair stood up and goosebumps ran all over his body.

"What was that?" Kanaya asked, shivering and looking over herself.

"I think we've just gotten a direct doze of magic from the spirit realm," Rose said.

Each breath Jake drew became easier and easier, his body adapting to magical field around him, because – he realized it now – it was his natural state of being. A mere half-thought was enough for sparks to appear on the tips of his fingers.

Jake has never felt so empowered, not even in the future.

But then he saw the vessels catching green fire one by one, and realized Space was about to release all the spirits in their true forms.

Underlings were pouring out of the portal, and Dave gripped his sword tighter.

"Time to get busy," he said and tugged Kanaya's sleeve. "Come on, let's find the others."

"We can't let Space open the barrier, not when Dirk and Jade are like this. I will try to keep it sealed for as long as I can," Rose frowned at the sight of the portal. "Distract Space for a while, will you?"

Jake nodded and sprinted to the centre of the meadow. He was looking upwards and didn't pay attention to what was on the ground, that's why falling on his face after stumbling on something was an utter surprise. He scrambled on his feet after fixing his glasses, searching for an offensive object, and saw the chained up box – the one where paradox was kept.

After a moment of hesitation he took the cube out and inserted it in the glove for easier keeping.

"JADE!!" He screamed, craning his heck to look at the figure that was so high up it turned into a tiny dot. "Jade, I know you are still in there, you can beat Space, it's easy, you know how to do it, we practised!"

As expected, even though the last part was an obvious bluff, it made Space stop her incantations, and she rocketed downwards, landing in front of Jake so quickly, he had to step back.

"She can never wake up. Jade Harley's soul is no more," Space hissed.

"Why do you world-dominating types keep flattering yourself?" Jake said, sounding a lot braver than he felt. "By using our bodies, you are fuelled by our emotions and memories. Jade gives you life. You are nothing without her."

He stepped aside and Space followed, turning around – now she couldn't see Rose, who was reading a spell off a book, following it with complicated gestures. Kanaya was nearby, shielding her from underlings and making sure they don't disrupt the ritual. It was working already, and the split began shrinking; however, the process was slow, and obviously took a lot of energy out of Rose.

There were hoards of underlings, Jake have seen this many only in the future, and the rest of the team were fighting without catching a breath.

"It was true for the other spirits, who used human bodies as transportation, two souls and two minds in one vessel. Jade Harley's soul is the _vessel_ itself, it was transformed and now there is only one mind occupying this body. Jade Harley doesn’t exist anymore," Space narrowed her eyes coldly and bared her teeth. "She was destined to die like this from the moment she was born. Finally, after two thousand years of being scattered in time, in form of particles in the souls of the descendants of an idiot who tried to banish me, I reign supreme!"

Her icy voice sent shivers down Jake's spine, but he refused to believe Jade was gone. She couldn't be.

This is not how it's going to end.

Unfortunately, at that same moment Space spotted Rose.

"I don't think so," Space growled and raised her hand in the air.

 _I'm sorry, Jade,_ Jake thought to himself, and struck Space with all the strength magic could give him, throwing her into the buzzing beam of light.

Sparks flew like a firework, and her body arched painfully and began shaking as if it was jabbed with electricity – but the next moment she landed on the ground, completely unharmed and shaking the sparks off.

At least she dropped Rose, who quickly conjured a shield around herself and Kanaya; so did Jake.

But Space didn't pay Jake any attention, and instead exploded Rose's shield, lifted her again and propelled her right into the swarm of underlings like a puppet. The monsters let out ferocious growls at the sight of the new prey; Kanaya screamed and pointed a gun at them, shooting blindly.

Space didn't waste any time, turned to the portal and ripped it wide open; the fire circle above turned into vomit colour, and then suddenly it vanished, and the ten vessels fell on the ground, emanating dark grey smoke.

For one wild second Jake hope that Space's ritual failed – but then the smoke became thicker and was streaming like ten trickles of water, each coiling up into a massive shape, and one by one, the spirits emerged from them, bearing their true forms like they saw in the future.

Ten giant white wings of Hope spread across the sky; million eyes of Time looked over the meadow; Blood's single eye spun around frantically; Life's greenish-yellow colour seemed unnatural in comparison with the grass; Breath hung suspended in midair, as if carried by the wind; wispy figure of Mind with its calming coldness landed on the ground silently, followed by violent movements of Rage and Doom; glossy surface of Light reflected the green light of Space's eyes while Void's slim figure absorbed all colours.

Suddenly Jake realized that he wasn't hearing sounds of the battle, and saw that the firing ceased because all underlings pressed closer to the ground, subdued and unmoving, too scared of their masters.

Only the humans remained standing, with fear written in every feature, seeing the spirits for the first time. In the midst of it he saw Kanaya helping Rose stand up – her pained expression, as well as the fact that both of her legs seemed broken, was obvious even from afar.

"Enjoy your freedom, brethren," Space said, flying up to be above of the spirits, so that even Time, who was the hugest, had to look up at her.

The wings of Hope flapped, and it soared upwards, only to bump into the dome with a small _clank_ and fall down with an undignified squeak.

The other spirits followed its fall with their eyes nonchalantly, and Mind asked, "Is this a trick you are playing on us, Mistress? I was under the impression freedom means more than several kilometres covered by a binding spell."

Space stared at it for several long moments, and Mind must have seen something in her expression, because it backed off.

"You want real freedom? Stop standing like plague-stricken livestock and break it," Space scowled.

Some of the spirits, like Mind, Breath, and Blood, got to the task immediately and crashed into the dome, and with horror, Jake saw it giving in, a thin crack on pearly white spreading across the sky.

The other spirits, however, were more sceptical.

"With all due respect, Space," Light said, settling on top on Time's giant body. She flexed her many crystal arms with veins full of liquid light absent-mindedly. "Should we rely on your judgement? You are in a human's body."

Space darted towards her and pressed a palm to her chest. The cracks started spreading over the crystal surface, and Light uttered an agonized groan.

"Are you questioning my authority?"

"No, Mistress," Light pushed out constrained words, and the cracks stopped instantly.

“Your job is to foresee,” Space's voice was stiff, and it was obvious she was struggling to keep calm. “You must see what line of your behaviour holds my fury in the future.”

"All hail the Mistress of Space," Time boomed, and the other spirits seemed a lot more eager to obey her orders and break the dome now.

Everyone, except for Light, who bent over to whisper something to one of Time's eyes.

"We'll need backup," Jake heard Dane saying, and even though it was quiet, Rage managed to hear him and laughed.

"Worthless humans! There isn't enough humans in the world that can help you stop us!"

"That is correct,” Rose said, and winced as if words caused her physical pain. She was paler than usual, and the only reason she was standing was because Kanaya was holding her firmly. “But maybe it's not humans I'll ask for help.”

Rage just cackled madly, clearly not believing her, and returned to blasting the dome apart under Space's sharp gaze.

Life waved its limbs, and half of the trees turned into thick greasy lianas that sprouted and twined in the air, forming a web that crashed into the dome as well.

Some of the spirits were attracted by the tall buildings of Sandford and soon the sounds of crashing concrete and woods rang in the distance.

"Mind!" Space commanded. "Find the human how casted the binding spell and make them undo it. Doom, assist Mind, you can kill the spare humans."

"Yes, Mistress," the two spirits answered in unison and rushed towards the group that scattered around immediately, raising their weapons in battle stations.

Jake, who was standing aside from them, went unnoticed, and he punched some coordinates in the portal glove quickly, opening a dozen portals leading in different points of Sandford so that they could escape easier – the portals were small and some spirits couldn’t even fit through them.

Jake was about to enter a portal himself, but hang on for a few more seconds to eavesdrop on more of Space's possible commands.

"How can I be of help?"

Jake flinched when he heard Dirk's voice; he still wasn't used to how much the transformation didn't change his appearance.

Space scoffed. "You are useless in this form."

"I still have my power over human souls!"

Heart's hands flared with something resembling pink electricity and he held him in front of Space, but she only wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I can't be sure the human mind you inhabit won't do something to you, like... like mine did," she winced, and Jake abandoned the idea to go inside the portal altogether. This promised to be a curious conversation.

"My loyalty is unquestionable, my Mistress!" Heart said passionately and struck his chest with his fist in a ridiculous gesture Dirk would never do. "If I am allowed to ask, what did this human do to you?"

Space traced a finger from her neck down the chest with an expression of deep disdain.

"Somehow, she was prepared for this. She wasn't supposed to, this knowledge must have been lost over the millennia... But she locked her soul in the way that won't allow me to assume my true form..."

Space's thoughtful expression changed to furious in a matter of seconds, and she grabbed Heart's throat in a lightning quick motion.

"You will not tell _anyone else_ this, do you understand me?" She growled.

"Y-yes, Mistress," Heart croaked, and she released him.

Jake laughed; Jade has put good use to Dirk’s journal and the books he shoved under the door of her bedroom. Perhaps it was a good thing that he has locked her in there in this particular situation, but he promised himself to never do this again. Jade has proven many times that she is a lot smarter than an average person and could take care of herself.

"You go, Jade!" He said aloud and both spirits turned to face him instantly. "Um... Nevermind me, I was just... going that way," he pointed a finger in a random direction where a basilisk was, who was aiming a hit of its tail right at oblivious Equius and Nepeta. Jake blasted the basilisk apart and ran towards Equius and Nepeta. Both were fighting Doom, attacking him from all sides, preventing him from getting to the others.

Jake joined the two, who were clearly uncomfortable with using magic and relied on weapons instead, and were still alive only due to miraculous luck. They were dodging Doom's tendrils weaving a web around them, occasionally landing a hit with arrows and claws; one tendril hit the nearest gigantic liana and turned it into dust.

Performing an amazing somersault, Nepeta sliced a tendril with her claws right where it connected to the spirit's slimy body, while Equius dodged another tendril coming at him and, with no time to reach for an arrow, simply plunged his fist into it, throwing the tendril in the opposite direction.

But Jake saw the way spirits could fight in the future, and knew it won't go on like this for long. He needed to find a way a shove those spirits back into their realm...

Jake glanced at the spirit portal that was right behind them.

The bold approach was worth a try.

He jumped on one of the lianas, ignoring that gross sticky liquid that covered his boots immediately, and flung himself up to the bump which he guessed was the spirit's head, concentrating all the energy he could in a combustions spell, which he knew wouldn't be able to harm Doom, but had enough energy to send it flying right inside the portal. However, right when Doom began tipping into portal, the magic field of its native realm attracting and sucking it in on its own, the tendrils wrapped around Jake tight.

Jake's heart jumped to his throat as he found himself flying into the portal as well, and he squeezed his eyes shut, just as he passed the thin wall between the worlds.

He felt subtle change of the environment, as if the molecules of his body rearranged themselves to coexist with this new reality, but at the same time – he felt nothing.

All the noise from the battle died out and he dared to open his eyes.

He was in a place with no up and down, no warmth or chill or wind; it seemed dead and full of dusty old colours. For some reason, he couldn't see very far, as if everywhere he moved he was followed by a three-dimensional spotlight lighting up a few dozen meters around him. Or were there more dimensions?... Jake couldn't tell.

So that was the spirit realm, Jake thought. It was tranquil, nothing like he imagined it. His immediate association was an old book: worn and sometimes incomprehensible, but full of long ancient stories.

Nobody seemed to be there expect for him and Doom, who conjured a floating throne out of nowhere to sit on and observe Jake's reaction.

Doom's appearance was different. Instead of looking like at oversized octopus with misshapen tentacles growing in random places, it looked more refined now. Its skin was smooth, emanating some kind of unexplainable black light that made space around it quiver. The tendrils were curled around the throne like it was their usual position, and were moving slightly, as if they weighed nothing. The ones that Nepeta and Equius have cut off have already grown back.

The portal he came from was close, but he was floating away from it, right into something that looked like red roots hanging from nowhere. Jake covered his face, prepared for impact, but he simply phased right through them. He concentrated hard and managed to grab on the red web, and that's when he noticed his skin was multicoloured and slightly transparent, like a soap bubble. Apparently, humans changed appearance to fit in another realm too, just like spirits.

And then Doom let out a series of weird bubbling noises – on the one hand, it was complete nonsense, but on the other hand, Jake understood them clearly.

“Welcome to the spirit realm,” Doom said. “As you can see, this is where our true powers flourish.”

Jake wanted to say something brave, like _it's a good thing you are going to spend the rest of your life here,_ but the realization that Doom could possibly summon its minions to crash him just like that stopped him.

However, Doom seemed to be able to read his mind, because it chuckled and said, “I repeat, this is our domain. Even if you manage to trap us here, we will break your barrier down. Human magic is measly compared to ours, even when we weren't present here, it became worn down over the millennia.”

Jake gulped, thinking that they would need to find another way of trapping spirits – they couldn't allow the future generations deal with this, this ordeal must be finished today.

Perhaps there was another dimension they could access?

“There is no other dimension,” Doom answered. “It's a choice between human world and spirit world, and either one is going to be in our favour.”

Jake remembered the thick darkness and the world that was falling apart.

But what about the void of the paradox?

“How the hell did you find out about paradoxes – oh, nevermind,” Doom momentary displeasure disappeared. “Paradox void is not a dimension. It's pure nothingness which, if not properly contained, consumes everything in its path.”

I know. That's exactly what Viceroy said.

“Who is Viceroy?”

Jake's thoughts were quicker than his words, that's why before he could master an answer, Viceroy's face and an idea of who he was appeared in his mind.

“You were in the future?” For the first time Doom sounded concerned. “I need to alert my Mistress.”

Despite having no clue what Space would do with this information, Jake knew it was a bad idea.

“No you won't!” He said aloud, words coming out as the same bubbling sounds, and moved his hands around to stir himself towards the portal – and suddenly a tiny ghost materialized in front of him.

"A human!" It screeched. "A HUMAN!!"

And then the spotlight he was in expanded through the whole realm, revealing endless dim atmosphere with occasional specks of colour where the roots or other plant-like objects were. This whole space was covered in flares of ghosts and monsters appearing out of thin air wailing in various voices, "The barrier is broken!"

"Congratulations, human," Doom sounded smug. "You have alerted the entire spirit realm of your existence. All of them are truly yearning for a change of decor. Do you believe the piece of land you are battling on can handle all of them?"

Jake swore and swayed on the webs, flinging himself back in the portal and hitting the ground.

He laid there for a while, allowing his body to restore to its natural state. He glanced down at his arms, and with a sigh of relief he saw his skin being back to its normal brown colour.

Now he really needed to find Rose and ask her if she knew any alternative rituals by any miraculous chance.

He looked around; Equius and Nepeta were nowhere to be seen, no doubt finding themselves a new target, there was no sign of Rose or anyone else from their team. However, he spotted Aradia, Sollux, and Vriska engaged in a spectacular battle against Rage and Breath.

Perhaps what they needed was a direct demonstration of what spirits where capable of to come around; or maybe they just didn't want to be dead like their friends, whose bodies were lying still where Space left them. In any case, he didn't have to worry about them attacking other people, for they were united against a common enemy.

"Mistress! We found her!" Void's voice boomed and Rose was thrown in the meadow crashing into it barely attempting to shield herself. She looked very weak, and the blonde colour of her hair was barely visible under the scarlet coat of blood covering it.

"Are you okay?" Jake hurried to help her sit up, and Kanaya appeared nearby almost instantly.

"Take a fucking guess," she grumbled and gripped their shoulders for support.

"One of the humans who casted the binding spell, I saw her mind," Mind said. "She thought she could seal the portal back with her silly weak magic."

The spirit laughed, devoid of any emotion.

"As if she didn't know the barrier broken by a spirit can only be sealed by a spirit!"

Jake glanced at Rose, who looked down with her lips pursed.

"For such blasphemy, she must suffer," Space commanded, snapping her fingers at Heart. "You want to make yourself useful? Kill her."

Heart nodded, and his curled up fists glowed pink.

"I expect you to protect me from your boyfriend's murdery advances," Rose said. "I've never seen a person as incapable of doing magic as him, so I actually think this plan might work."

"I've been to the other side, there's a billion ghouls coming our way. About sealing the portal, you can't..." Jake began.

Rose shook her head. "I know I can’t seal it, they were right, I'm sorry. But it doesn't mean I don't have other ways of-"

"Surrender, human!" Heart approached them and pointed at Rose.

Jake promptly positioned Kanaya and her behind him.

He took a deep breath and looked directly into Dirk's glowing eyes.

"No, Dirk," he said firmly. "If you want to kill her, or anyone, you will have to go through me first."

"I have no quarrel with you," Heart said. "Move out of the way so that I can prove my Mistress-"

"She is not your mistress, she is Jade, and you know it. Come on, Dirk, remember who you are."

Heart rolled his eyes. "I thought you've learnt by now... He can't wake up. He's only human."

Jake frowned. "You are possessing the smartest person I know, do you really think you have a chance against him? He planned all of this, and he may not be always right – but if he says this mission has a one hundred percent probability of success, I believe him, and you should too. Look at your clairvoyant," he pointed at Light, still sitting on top of Time. "Why is she not doing anything? Could it be because she knows you were doomed to fail the moment Dirk decided to plan our rescue mission?"

Jake ensured he had Heart's full attention and pressed the button opening the portal behind his back – a soft whooshing sound told him Rose and Kanaya went through.

"I don't care what you think," Heart growled, the pink energy glowing brighter around him. "The only thing I want is to _finally_ please Space, so move out of my way!"

Jake spread his arms, palms open.

"Kill me then. I won't defend myself. Do it."

Heart raised his glowing hand, ready to strike, but Jake didn’t break eye contact and saw the hesitation in his expression. He stood still for a moment, then huffed and turned away, but upon catching sight of Space, now busy with instructing the other spirits on how to break the dome, turned back to Jake – then back to Space, and back to Jake again, brows furrowing, unable to choose.

Feeling bold, Jake made the choice for him.

He cupped his face, feeling the frantic beat under the cold skin, and stared directly into his eyes.

"Dirk. I don't know what kind of thing you want to me to say... Maybe there was a password I'm not smart enough to figure out?" Jake looked into his eyes intently and pushed the hair off his forehead, but there was no spark of recognition. "Come on, Dirk, you are a tough cookie, you can do it. Dace Hagler has lost the three quarters of its members, just like in the future, remember? Remember how we promised to never let this happen? We need you back, I need you... I love you," he said softly, and, bearing all the fairytales in mind, close the final distance between them and kissed him.

His lips were cold like a corpse, and he didn't return the kiss, but he didn't attack either, and Jake could only guess what kind of conflict was inside his mind.

He remembered Terezi’s story, and he knew the only thing Dirk needed to take control was Heart being confused enough.

So he kissed him again.

And again, until the purple flare in Dirk’s widened eyes faded ever so slightly.

He stood without moving for some time, just looking at each other, until suddenly Dirk cried out and doubled, pressing his hands over his eyes.

"Dirk?" Jake gripped his shoulders to balance him.

He just shook his head, with fingers digging into his hair painfully.

"Dirk, it's me, Jake, can you... hear me? Understand me?"

Dirk’s breaths were short and shallow, and muscles awfully tense, and he pushed the words out.

"Oh, this shit is difficult as fuck – Heart's resilience w-wavered, so I snatched c-control from it, I don't know how long it will last...” His voice changed on the last words, becoming high and alien, and he shook his head again, as if trying to clear it. "I need to... I need... Reality."

“Reality? What do you mean-“

Jake desperately searched for what kind of reality he could be wanting. Perhaps, being grounded in reality?

"Your name is Dirk Strider," he began talking quickly. "Born on December the third in Torpos, now you are living in Avis – no, actually, now you are travelling with us, with me, Jake English, and Jade Harley, and Bec, today is September the twenty-second, you are in Sandford because this is where you transported us to fight the spirits with your brothers, Dave and Dane, and your landlords, Equius and Nepeta, and your friends..."

"And Space is possessing Jade," Dirk finished, sounding more comprehensible, but still in pain. "Yes, I remember."

He breathed out slowly and opened one eye, but closed it instantly.

"How are you feeling?" Jake asked.

"Have you ever been struck with a hundred axes at once? Well, it's worse than that. I can't... I mean, I don't see... I can't see. People and things. I’m not myself, I’m not Heart – I don’t know what I am... I'm looking through Heart's eyes, and it only sees souls and matter, it’s nothing like our world. And your soul, Jake..."

He opened his eyes wider, and Jake gulped, shivering under the intensity of pink flares.

"...It burns the brightest."

Jake held his breath, and Dirk stared at him, as if he was the only thing existing in the world, and Jake didn't say anything, because if he wanted to use his soul as another anchor to reality, Jake would gladly give it up for this purpose.

"How are you... doing this?" Jake asked finally. "Staying conscious? Have you taken over it completely?"

"Here's the trick, Jake. Like everyone keeps telling us, it's impossible for a human to overtake a spirit. They are right. I allow Heart to exist in my body, but I suppress its existence so much that it becomes unnoticeable. And it allows me to have full access to its powers. Win-win situation. I am very good at multitasking," his weak smile turned into a wince, and he clutched his head again.

Jake bit his lip, looking over him in concern. If the rhythm of the light seeping through his skin was any indication of his pulse, his heart was racing at impossible level.

And then his gaze fell on the blade sticking through Dirk's chest, piercing his heart, and he realized his body must be dying and reviving itself every second.

It was a very unsettling thought.

"So what kind of powers does Heart have?" Jake asked, turning away from the blade finally.

"I don't know..." Dirk frowned. "Something to do with souls, whatever this means. I think I can destroy them, but it can't be all."

This sounded incredibly fascinating – and then Jake remembered something.

"Dirk, can you look at Jade's soul, please? Space says it doesn't exist anymore... Is it true?"

Dirk glanced back at Space, who, luckily, didn't pay them any attention, and narrowed his eyes.

"Jade's soul is still there, but unlike the others, it entwined with Space's essence so much it became a single being. Spirits seem to think a fusion of the two is a monster..."

He hummed in contemplation, and then there was a loud noise and a bigger crack ran throw the dome under the combined efforts of the spirits.

"I need to stop them," Dirk said. "Before they destroy the dome completely."

Jake blocked his way. "Wait! Don't you think it's dangerous, you seem, uh, unstable, with your souls and axes."

"I will be fine, I can see right throw them," he attempted to pull the blade out of his chest, but it seemed to be stuck permanently. "Shit. Oh well, I will familiarize myself with Heart powers instead. Conjure me a portal, will you?"

Jake punched new coordinates into the glove and said, "Be careful."

"Sure. You'd better focus on the barrier between the realms," Dirk stuck a finger at the split, and with horror, Jake saw it crawling with new ghouls, pouring out – he's spent too much time talking to Dirk and managed to forget about them.

The air itself was becoming too electrified, with pressure building up and now being physically perceptible; Doom was right, there was no way the dome will manage to stay whole any longer.

He opened a portal for himself that led directly to Rose, and punched the spirit that appeared in front of him, without bothering to look who that was.

"Draw this," Rose said without further ado, before he could even say a word.

She tore a page out of the heavy book she was reading and threw it at Jake, and he saw a complicated symbol, resembling the ones Feferi drew earlier.

He joined Kanaya, Dave, and Aradia, who were already preoccupied with carefully copying their own symbols on the ground around Rose.

"What's it going to be?" Jake asked, when the symbol lit up with golden fire as soon as he finished drawing the last line.

"The dome will fall apart soon," Rose explained without looking up from the book. "And a bazillion monsters are coming through the barrier... So I'm calling for backup."

"But the spirits said human magic can't seal the barrier."

"Exactly," Rose said, slamming the book shut and throwing it away. "So I will call for someone who is not human instead."

The white letters of the black cover read, _Necromancy_.

Very concerned Kanaya carried Rose in the centre of the circle of four symbols, and Rose threw her arms upwards, folding them in a pleading gesture.

_"I call upon you, resting souls,_

_Restore the wall that once was whole,_

_Protect the world from reigning hell_

_And listen to my calling spell._

_Demolished by famine and wars,_

_Now walk the Earth that once was yours!"_

With her last words, the warm flames turned black and erupted with new force, and out of them, transparent tremulous figures emerged, at first a dozen, then a hundred, then a thousand...

And then the dome cracked, and the spirits screamed in delight.

"I ask you, the fallen souls, to aid us in defeating a threat for the sake of peace in the future of this world," Rose yelled over the sound of whooshing flames and cries of the spirits. "Please, stop them from getting to other people," she pointed at the spirits flying in different directions.

The souls followed suit without saying a word, taking off instantly in one swarm, while new ghosts still emerged from the flames, and in this mass of transparent greyish mist it was impossible to distinguish facial features.

But, apparently, not for everyone.

"Oh my god, Feferi," Aradia gasped, and Jake saw her and Sollux standing in front of ghosts of Feferi and Eridan. It was the first time Jake saw Aradia nearly in tears, inspecting Feferi’s saddened face in utter disbelief; Feferi’s ghostly fingers brushed over Aradia’s curl.

Feferi's long hair moved as if they weighed nothing, and when she glanced at Jake's direction, her lips quivered and brows furrowed in an expression of deepest regret.

At least they would get some post-mortem reconciliation, Jake thought. That was good.

"Hello, Jake," a voice said behind his back.

Jake started and didn't turn right away, refusing to believe his ears. But then he saw them, the ghostly images of June and Joss Harleys, both beaming at him. The sun was shining right through them, making them seem even more like an illusion in the fog, or an unfinished drawing someone forgot to colour.

"Grandma, Grandpa..." Jake stared at them, heart thumping somewhere in his throat, and smiled faintly. "You... you have answered our call?"

"Of course we did," Joss said and ruffled Jake's hair – his touch was like a cool ocean breeze. "It's our duty to save the world of the living."

"And we wanted to see you," June added. "There is so much we need to tell you..."

Her smile wavered and eyes turned sad for a moment.

"About Jade?" Jake asked. He didn't feel like smiling anymore.

"Yes," Joss said. "Even though you already know enough..."

"But I need to know everything."

Jake hoped they would have an explanation for everything, that it was someone else's thought.

Jake was too scared to hear something that would make him hate his family.

But most of all, he wanted to eliminate the feeling of uncertainty and finally learn the truth.

"We can tell you our story, if you want, but mind this: we don't seek forgiveness or justification. We know we did horrible, unforgivable things in your time, and the least we can do is to tell you the whole truth. You deserve it," Joss smiled again, but there was no fondness or compassion. Just sadness.

Jake simply nodded, unable to speak, and June began, looking at him with her eyes that were once bright green, but know were misty grey – reminding him of his mother.

"If we are to start from the very beginning... It began two thousand years ago, when a magician found a way to banish the spirit of Space – the most powerful spirit there was – forever. When the barrier between the spirit realm and our world was built with thousands of souls, the magician used its power to split the spirit into two parts, trapping one part inside his own soul, and the second, biggest part, inside his loyal dog. The magician's soul wasn't simply turned into a vessel – the pieces of Space were scattered in time, in his descendants. This way he was sure nobody would ever summon Space in his generation.

"He knew that a newborn child in each generation in his family would inherit the soul from their ancestors, until one day a person with a fully complete vessel inside their soul would be born. He calculated that it was going to happen in two thousand years, right before the barrier would be worn so thin it could be broken from the other side. However, the theory of reincarnation wasn't fully developed back then, and he made a mistake of thinking that every single person with his blood will inherit a part of the vessel, that's why he forbad his daughter to have more than one child. He feared that if in two thousand years there will be too many people with his blood the vessel won't be complete, and when the barrier breaks again they wouldn't be able to seal it. His daughter was a magician too, and she took the warning seriously. She knew how important it was to keep track of the vessel. Unfortunately, she gave birth to twins.

"She asked her father what should be done, and with a heavy heart, for the benefit of all humanity, they agreed to kill one of the kids. This was the idea that had to be passed generation to generation. Of course, there were people who managed to hide, that's how that Peixes bloodline appeared, even though we managed to track them down in the end... And Egberts, they buried their connection so deep we were unable to find it. And we were taught that people like that should be eliminated," a ghostly tear dropped down June's cheek, and she closed her eyes; Joss placed a hand of her shoulder and took over.

"Generations of Harleys searched for a way to get rid of the spirit entwined with a soul, but that was something no human, not even a sorcerer, was able to do. We found the best magician in the world, Tentacle Therapist, to research the ways souls work. We believed parts of Space were in Peixes family, so that's what we did, we eliminated Tyrine Peixes. It wasn't completely unjustified, after all, she killed June's parents – oh, I'm sorry, I promised not to seek excuses. Anyway, her daughter Feferi escaped, finding protection under the roof of her friend Eridan’s family. Back then we didn't know the Amporas learnt the truth from Tyrine as well. Infuriated, the Amporas staged a train crash to kill us, and in return they were killed by the Midnight Crew, our faithful allies – they did this on their own accord, seeking revenge.

"Thus, the circle was complete, the generation of poor choices was erased, giving place to the newer and hopefully better generation. There were only two who managed to survive: Damara Megido, Aradia’s mother, who never got involved, and a wise man named Jonathan Egbert. Nothing could compare to Jonathan's protection for his newborn son. When he, a simple businessman and a secret Harley offspring – so secret only he knew about it – found out about Tyrine's death and figured out _why_ she was killed, he was scared we would come after his son. So he poured all his resources into becoming a significant political figure and creating a brand new country where his son would live in peace, despite the Empress's refusal to give up Halitus Island. To think he was so scared of us..." He shook his head and sighed.

"All those killings, it was top-class brainwashing, you see, we never thought any other way was possible… until our son decided to abandon the woman we chose for him to marry and instead start a secret affair with Anna Ryer, who has already become Anna English by that time. That's how it always worked, the older generations chose a spouse for their heir – that's how I met June, I was raised to become her husband, although first and foremost I became her best friend,” they exchanged sad smiles.

“It was different with Jacob and Anna, he was infatuated with her _so much_ in every way; she was a smart, opinionated outsider who showed him how wrong our ways were and tried to change us too. However, just like you, we didn't believe her when she said the killings weren't necessary. And June's parents ordered their execution. Can you imagine what it was like for us when the Tentacle Therapist contacted us, having the results of her research, and said there was no need in killings? That the soul would simply be passed to one person, who will become the victim? After our own son's death… It was our wake-up call. We knew the next step was choosing which one of you can live, and we couldn't, we had to unlearn those poisonous ideas. Of course, it was too late for us to seek redemption, but the least we could do was raise you as better people. We see now that we succeeded."

"We knew one of you is going to be the vessel," June continued. "And we also knew the barrier will be broken soon, and that to seal it, you will need all twelve vessels, so we set on a quest of finding them and founded SkaiaNet to get the funding. We managed to find nine and plant them in the locations we were sure you'd visit, changing the incantations written on some of them so that the other people won't activate them accidentally. We also made a deal with our right-hand men – the Midnight Crew – to keep an eye on you, to protect you and give you the Space incantation after our deaths. Our deal was quite specific. Once SkaiaNet got dismantled they didn't get the share they were entitled to, because we told them they could get their money _only_ after they were employed by you, this way it wouldn't look suspicious. So we told you to hire them and pay them... But enough about the Midnight Crew."

Jake just stared at them, not knowing what to say. He wanted to tell them he still loved them – but was it really the right thing to say? Could they still deserve… anything?

His throat could finally produce some words.

“You knew about everything,” his voice came out hoarse. “About Jade… You knew it was her.”

“When you were born, we knew it was going to be one of you,” June said, eyes begging. “We realized it was Jade the moment she saw the name Becquerel in one of our books about magic and chose it for Halley. Of course, for her it was an intuitive choice, she didn't know it was Bec's real name, the one he used to possess when he was just a dog thousands of years ago, not a vessel. That's when he accepted her as his one and only master… And he sensed the part of Space in her soul as well, of course.”

"You could've told Jade and me all of this," he said finally, eyes burning. “We would’ve listened. We trusted you, and... You could’ve trusted us too.”

Joss shook his head. "If we did, we'd have to explain the reasons for own actions, which would lead to you seeking excuses for us out of love and trust, which meant you would be raised like any other Harley."

"We thought we'd have time to explain you everything once you are old enough, and maybe not blinded by love, but we died earlier than we expected…" June said. "But we are happy you could figure everything out without our help."

"If wasn't me," Jake said. "It was Dirk."

June smiled. "Ah, of course, I remember your friend. What a nice young man."

For the first time a mischievous spark appeared in her eyes, just like in old days.

This reminded Jake of the scenarios he liked to envision sometimes, him introducing Dirk to his family, even though in his daydreams they were alive and innocent...

"Wait a second," he paused. "When you say you remember him, do you mean from the past, when we were time-travelling? How is it possible, I thought we created a parallel timeline by visiting the past!"

June smiled. "Oh, but we are not from any specific timeline... We are from every single timeline at once. This is a little secret of the afterlife that nobody living knows: once you die, you exist above time, getting the memories and experiences from _all_ timelines. You can evaluate your choices and see how good or how bad your life could have turned out. You see all your mistakes," her expression was pained, but she was still smiling. "I am not just June Harley. I am a compilation of all versions of myself to ever exist and I know thousands different ways my life could've unfolded."

Jake stared at the ground – he couldn’t bare looking at them anymore.

Jake wanted to hug them just like in his childhood, it would've been proof that they still had this special connection – but he couldn't hug air.

"Oh, my dear boy," Joss said, as if he could read his thoughts. "We are so sorry this had to happen... But we have to go now."

"What, where?"

"To do what we came here to do: to create a new barrier just like two thousand years," he pointed at the barrier, where a ton of ghosts were holding up the monsters that tried to enter this world, pushing them back inside, while other ghosts were fighting the spirits, not letting them escape.

Other ghosts, under Rose's command, were settling on the edges of the portal, melting into them and creating new walls that constricted it slowly.

So much has already happened, Jake couldn't believe he's wasted so much time talking when the others could have gotten hurt – he whipped his head around frantically, counting everyone, and with great relief saw all nine people alive and fighting actively without any drastic injuries – expect for Rose and Kanaya, who were standing in the necromantic circle, channelling the ghosts.

"Hold on just a second," Jake said, and shouted at the sky, "Dirk, come here!!"

Dirk landed a blow of purple energy at Mind that sent her toppling over and flying into the portal, and landed in front of Jake.

He looked over June and Joss and said, "Oh. Hello again. You don't know me-"

"They do," Jake said. "I'll explain later."

"Did they tell you what was the deal with Space and Harleys?" Dirk's tone became accusing instantly, and Jake glanced to the side.

"Yeah."

"Were my assumptions correct?"

"Most of them, yes," Jake said. "But we'll talk about it later, okay? Now I just wanted to introduce you officially before they go, without time-travelling secrets, or spirit secrets..."

He inhaled deeply and smiled. "Grandma, Grandpa, this is Dirk Strider, the brains of our team and the greatest man I've ever met."

Dirk smiled softly at him and told June and Joss, "I would shake your hand, but right now I am the Destroyer of Souls, and your souls look awfully yummy. I won't be able to control myself if I touch a soul.”

“But _we_ were touching too,” Jake said, confused.

“Your soul is safe with me,” Dirk answered shortly, and Jake smiled at this, having no doubt that Dirk would have no problem subduing Heart's destructive desires.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Aradia and Sollux exchanging quiet words, and approaching them cautiously, and frowned.

"You are in control of the spirit of Heart?" Sollux asked, eyeing Dirk with wariness, gaze lingering on the sword.

Dirk nodded.

"How are you doing this?" Aradia blurted out. "When I was possessed-"

"Long story," Dirk interrupted with a flick of a hand. "Clearly, you want something. What."

His eyes were hard, but Jake knew it wasn't because of hatred, but because of the amount of pressure he was under, that didn't leave any patience for other people.

Aradia and Sollux exchanged fleeting glances.

"Can we... ask you a favour? I've read a lot about Heart," Aradia said. "And it was said that manipulating souls is within its power. I mean, any kind of manipulation. Feferi and Eridan shouldn't have died today, it was an unfair mistake. Their bodies are still here, and so are their souls. Can you revive them?"

Dirk raised his eyebrows. " _Unfair mistake_? You tried to kill us and brought this into our world," he jabbed a finger towards the portal.

Aradia shifted and glanced at Sollux quickly. "I know, we are sorry, but-"

"Whatever. Heal their bodies."

Aradia nodded and rushed to mutter complicated spells over Feferi’s and Eridan’s bodies, rubbing their broken necks with potions.

Dirk rose his hand to the eye-level, inspecting it. All of a sudden, pink flare erupted from his fingertips, forming dynamic patterns on his skin, and he darted towards the ghosts of Eridan and Feferi. The blinding pink light enveloped the ghosts, who didn't have time to utter a sound before Dirk grabbed them, dropping on the ground and slamming them into their bodies.

And that instant the pair gasped and sat up, now completely alive, looking down at themselves in shock, completely disoriented.

"A very good man," June said in approval and touched Jake's shoulder. "Goodbye, Jake. Send Jade our love. Tell her... Oh, you’ll know."

"We'll always watch over you and protect your world in that barrier," Joss said and they both flew to meld with the other ghosts.

"Don't just stand there, doing nothing!!" Space screamed at the spirits. "Don't you see that barrier closing, stop those damn ghosts! Light and Time, this includes you too!"

The monsters from the other side wailed and pummelled the barrier, but there were millions of ghosts of people who have died for the past two thousand years, and they were clearly outnumbered.

Jake ripped a stone plague out of the ground and slammed it into Doom, who was turning the ghosts into ashes with every touch of its tendrils. This was enough to slow it down, so that the ghost could mend a bigger part of space, leaving only a tiny gap – Jake saw Space turning at his direction, her hand raised and glowing, and in that moment the most brilliant idea came to him.

Jake reached out for the inexhaustible source of magic in the spirit realm, place where magic was born, and scooped so much his veins hummed with an itch to apply it somewhere – so he grabbed the edges of the barrier and helped glue it together – and finally, it was closed.

"NO!" Space screamed ."What have you done!!"

Her raised hand lit up with green fire and everyone soared up in the sky again, humans and spirits and ghosts alike.

"You humans have stood in my way for long enough," she growled. "I shouldn't have shown you any mercy. Now, you will perish, slowly and painfully."

Jake felt the air being squeezed out of his lungs and awful force pressing him from all sides.

That's what being at the bottom of the ocean must feel like, crashed by hundreds of kilometres of water, he thought. He could barely move a finger, and the magic didn't react when he tried to reach for it, and he wasn't able to focus on anything because his vision was going black – but then, when he was desperately searching for something to help them out, he heard Feferi's whisper, "Jake, use the paradox."

So Jake ripped the paradox cube out of the glove and held it high up.

"Stop it!" He tried to say. "Or I will – break the universe!"

He was afraid Space wouldn't hear his hoarse whisper, but she seemed to notice the paradox and the pressure stopped.

Jake gasped for air, and saw Space staring directly at him, her hand still raised and prepared for a new attack.

"He is bluffing," Breath said with hesitation.

Light gazed at him intently, trying to foresee his choice, but Jake knew he was safe: he didn't have a plan, and his strength was being completely unsure of what he was about to do next.

So he did what he was least likely to do: he squeezed the cube and a crack burst out of it, from the sky to the ground.

“NOOOO!” Space screamed and threw them on the ground.

This time Jake was prepared, and landing without a scratch was a piece of cake. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eridan and Feferi helping Aradia and Sollux, both bleeding profusely, and Jake waved at Feferi quickly, receiving a nod of approval.

Rose climbed back into the necromantic circle and began reading more incantations summoning ghosts.

Jake turned right and saw Dirk lowering Dave on the ground, whom he caught in mid-fall, preventing him from breaking his neck.

“Thanks, man," Dave said, throwing his shades away, that were now missing both lenses and only obscured his vision. He looked at Jake. "Was your wisest idea to destroy the universe? I don't know if you forgot, but we kinda live here too.”

“It's okay,” Jake reassured him. “Space's priority will be fixing the universe she wants to rule, she won't have time for us. Look!”

He pointed at Space who kept screaming profanities on an unknown language and pulling the cracks back together, only for new ones to appear.

“DESTROY THEM!” Space commanded hysterically. “OR I WILL KILL YOU ALL!”

“I can't believe that _abomination_ with a fused soul is going to command the spirits. A permanent combination like that is an outrage against nature,” Dirk said loudly to Jake, and he was confused for a split second, before understanding he had to play along.

“I agree,” he said, just as loud, “Especially now that she is stuck with a human soul forever… What if she gets human emotions or something? Gross! If I were in their shoes I would've chosen a new leader to follow into a glorious battle.”

“I've been saying that for ages, I'd make a much better leader,” Rage muttered, and it was enough for the spirits to forget about the humans.

“Excuse me, but you? _A leader?_ If I wanted a joke I would see Breath fighting a human. Everyone knows I would be a better leader,” Life huffed.

“Bringing motion to the motionless is the most useless power there is,” Breath laughed. “We wouldn't survive a second under your leadership, if you don't remember, it was because of Life we were captured by the humans millennia ago.”

“It wasn't me, it was Void's fault!”

“I didn't do anything!”

“That's right, you never do anything!”

"Yes, we could've been a great team, but you were always too busy fighting wizards!"

Jake and Dirk exchanged amused glances.

“What do you think will happen if we kick them into the endless void while they are too preoccupied?” Dirk suggested.

Jake looked over the cracks; the biggest ones were large enough to push a spirit in.

"I suppose it's our best shot, if a paradox is the only thing that can break the wall between the universe and the void, and we throw the paradox inside the crack too..."

"...It will have nothing to ruin and stop working," Dirk finished. "All we'll need to do later is patching up the remaining cracks, and it will never open again, because a spirit is required for creation of a paradox. Sounds fool-proof. Let's do this."

“What about Jade? And what about you?” Jake worried his lip, watching the emptiness seeping through the crack, scary and incomprehensible.

“Don't worry about me, I am a simple possessed man, and Rose has the reversal spell. And I know how to take care of Jade,” Dirk touched his forearm in a reassuring gesture and moved towards Space, swift and soundless.

“Alright, you heard him,” Jake addressed his group, and glanced at Feferi's team in hesitation. “Are you going to help?”

Aradia and Sollux nodded, and Feferi said, “We are going to make this into the best possible timeline.”

“Wait, so we're taking Feferi's advice now? Are they the good guys?” Dave frowned.

“We are not in a book,” Jake answered, looking up at the portal. “There are no good and bad guys – Feferi has just been to the other side and possesses memories of all the alternate versions of this day, and if she says it's going to work, then in some universes it worked.”

Jake wondered briefly about the questions he could ask them – what being dead is like, what memories did they get, what does it _feel_ like?...

“Count me in too,” Vriska said with a mocking exaggerated sigh. “If I can't take over the world, I suppose I have to settle for second best, saving it and becoming a hero.”

“Can I lend the portal glove? I want to do something,” Dave asked, and Jake threw the glove at him. “Sweet!”

“Anyway, I've seen enough,” he heard Light saying – she was still sitting on top of Time, completely nonchalant. Jake has just realized he hasn't seen her do anything except for occasional snappy talk. “This timeline was doomed from the very start, even though I was waiting for you to stir it in a better way. Time and I are going to search for a better one. Goodbye.”

"Mutiny! How dare you!" Space bellowed and launched spears made of condensed green fire, which Time froze.

Hope went into a power dive, aiming at Light and screaming, "Take me with you, I don't want to be here!"

But Light folded its crystal arms, saying a simple "No", and the pair disappeared into thin air. The spears plunged into the ground where they were a second ago.

Hope had to spread all its wings wide in order not to crash and came to a halt.

And then it glanced at Space – and seemed to shrink under her gaze of cold fury.

"Oh, M-Mistress..." It stuttered and began backing away slowly. "When I said I wanted to join them... It was a joke..."

"I do not forgive betrayal," she cut it off, loud and clear.

With a couple of smooth motions that other spirits eyes in horror but never tried to stop she outlined a cube around Hope; its edges lit up with cold green light and began narrowing. Hope struggled to get out, thumping at the sides of the cage, but there was no chance for him. It begged the other spirits for help, but they averted their eyes, unwilling to go against Space.

The cage kept narrowing, and soon Hope couldn't move at all – but it didn't stop and pressed down until it could fit into Space's hand.

She took the white cube, looking in over with a thoughtful expression – and then exploded it, not twitching a muscle.

"Your hope is lost," Dave proclaimed, and glanced at the team, as if waiting for someone to applaud his one-liner.

Jake stepped away from Space just in case. He couldn't imagine a spirit wanting to murder one of their own.

Some voices attracted his attention, and he saw that there were two spirits who didn't participate in the execution.

Life was in the middle of an argument with Void about how it wasn't her who gave out the spirits' location to the magicians two thousand years ago, and was an easy target. While the others were distracted, Jake concentrated a blast of energy on his fingertips, running up close and aiming it at thin stems in Life's centre. She screamed and span around, directing a blast at him, which he dodged, throwing all the magic he possessed in creating a shield, and shot at it again, taking advantage of its size which made it slow.

He couldn't hurt it, and he certainly couldn't destroy it, but that wasn't what he wanted.

Life backed away, further and further, until it was close to the crack.

Dave opened dozens of portals around them and disappeared somewhere, which allowed them to move freely and appear unexpectedly.

“Damn fools!” Space screamed, tugging the cracks back together. “You can't defeat a dozen humans, what good are you!”

“With proper guidance-” Life began, and Jake used its momentary distraction and blasted her right into the void.

She spun and screamed and disappeared in thick nothingness.

On his left, Kanaya was holding Eridan's gun and shooting at Void. It was in vain, because Void dissolved the bullets before they could get to it, but being preoccupied, it didn't notice Nepeta sneaking up behind it with her claws ready, and Jake joined her in landing such a blow, Void practically flew into the crack.

Kanaya smiled at him, and just when he was about to suggest they go and help the others, her expression changed to the one of shock.

"Jake, look out!" She exclaimed, pointing behind his back.

He turned around, and froze momentarily, not knowing what to do, because Space had her fingers folded in a gesture that said she was about to break Jake's neck.

But then Dirk pummelled his fist into the back of her head, and she doubled over, not expecting a blow from him, and as she was turning around with the same furious expression she regarded Hope with, Dirk shouted, “Equius, your arrows!”

The last one of Equius's arrows flew in the air, ignited with Feferi's golden flame – but the moment Jake understood their plan he knew a single arrow with a binding spell couldn't stop Space. He sent a blast of magic towards it, multiplying both the arrow and the spell, just as Dirk threw his hand up, stilling them for a split second – and then jerking his hand downwards, smashing the hundred arrows into Space’s body. Jade's body was currently immortal, but Jake still jerked when he heard soft thumps of the arrows piercing her, pinning her to the ground, and effectively immobilizing her.

She cried out, but couldn't move a finger, and then Dirk submerged his hands elbow-deep in her chest – and suddenly white light covered Jade's body and blew up, and from the explosion, the bodies of Jade and Bec tumbled out without any sign of consciousness.

"Jade!" Jake exclaimed and made to run towards them, but Dirk stopped him.

"Not yet. Space is still inside them."

Jake came to a halt, glancing around and noting that Space's defeat, or, most likely, Hope's execution and Light's proclamation about the doomed timeline, made the rest of the spirits uncertain about their plans, thus making it easier for the humans throw them into the void with the help of ghosts.

The paradox cube was still squeezed in his fist, and he thought it was time to let it go – while ghosts mended the cracks pretty quickly, just like they did with the barrier, they didn't do it as well as Space.

So he launched it inside the crack as well, void inside void, where it belonged. New cracks stopped appearing immediately, and the ghosts mended the space without any resistance – a lot faster than Jake expected.

He looked at Dirk and Jade anxiously – they didn't have a lot of time.

“Jake, take it,” Kanaya said, and a paper with a counter-spell for the Heart spirit landed in Jake's hands.

He noticed that Rose was on the verge of fainting, in the midst of black fire from which new souls emerged, gluing space together, but now she could finally stop channelling the ghosts through herself and extinguish the fire. She was trembling all over, and panting hard.

Meanwhile, Dirk grabbed Jade and Bec again and ripped two pulsing balls of green energy out of their chests, throwing them inside the crack, and dipped his hands inside Jade again. The balls of energy entwined, forming a single shape, and disappeared into the void, just like the rest of the spirits.

But Jake didn't pay any attention to what the true from of Space was, because there was only a tiny split of void left, and he ran to Dirk, reading the counter-spell on the move, and yanked the sword out of his chest, that sucked up all electricity-like pink energy from him. Jake threw the sword into the void, mentally swearing he would get Dirk a new one, just went the tiniest split that was left closed up.

Jake caught Dirk's body with one hand and stared at the area where the split used to be, the silence around them almost deafening. The non-magical world was crashing them with its lack of energy.

And then his knees gave in, and he dropped down to check the pulse on Dirk, Jade, and Bec. With immense relief, he felt tiny pushes under his fingertips signifying human heart pumping human blood… Or dog blood, in Bec's case. He wondered how long they would be unconscious – all three of them endured more pain and pressure than anyone else before them.

But it didn't matter now.

Jake flicked his fingers, trying to reach out for magic, but was met with deaf emptiness. The hollow gap in reality where magic used to be was the final proof that everything was over. With the paradox cracks sealed and no sources left, magic was gone from this world. Even the underlings melted when there was nothing left to support their existence.

“So… we did it? We won? Hooray?” Nepeta asked in hesitation, clapping a couple of times.

Equius shrugged and clapped as well for support.

Smoke was rising in the horizon where Sandford's tallest buildings were, and Jake could clearly see that the towers of Sandford University were no longer looming over the city.

A pile of shapeless smoking debris that used to be the dirigible was lying on the ground, all the trees on the patch transported from Crystal Falls were either burned down or fallen, and regular orange flames still burned on the grass somewhere – but these ruins didn't have the air of despair, like in the future. This was merely a tiny sacrifice given to achieve peace.

Most important, everyone was alive and they prevented the future.

And Dirk said he loved him.

Jake sat next to Dirk and Jade, taking his limp hand and stroking circles on it.

Sandford probably looked like it was bombed right now, and everyone was hurt, and he had no idea what was going to happen next – but he was certain that it was going to be something very good, the kind of good that made him not mind the thick smell of smoke and chemicals, or the hollow emptiness inside his chest that told him he could never use magic again, or a different emptiness where love and trust in their grandparents used to be.

But he'd get used to it.

He'd find something else to fill it.

And right now all of them deserved some rest.

Jake felt his eyelids heaving – honestly, all he wanted to do right now was lie of the grass and stare at the sky pointlessly – and heard Dave saying, “One thing for sure: I'm not chipping in to pay for any of this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Murder! Cheesy romance tropes! A true love's kiss! Spirit realm! Paradoxes! Necromancy! More murder!  
> Welp, that's what everything was building up to, guys.  
> I really should write a better end note - but tbh i'm soooo sleppy right now, I can barely type. Sorry :C  
> Next chapter: all the confusing things will be explaiined.  
> Anyways, my tumblr is still [s-opal](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/)


	17. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to wrap everything up.  
> I've missed previous Friday, so how about a chapter a day earlier?

Turns out, everyone underestimated Dave. Perhaps because Jake was biased, knowing only Dirk's less than objective opinion about his younger brother, but Jake didn't expect to hear Dane's niggardly praise of his initiative in conducting a perfect evacuation plan within mere hours.

Not only that, while they were fighting and while the portal glove was still functioning, he also opened the portal to Halitus to let some people enter Sandford while they could. Of course, it didn't last for long and the majority of the population was still stuck on the island and waited to be delivered the old-fashioned way, but at least Jane and Roxy got out okay.

Both were shocked to see what Sandford turned into, terrified to see the injuries they obtained, and agitated to know what has happened in great detail, since during the evacuation nobody had time for explanations.

And of course, Jane and Roxy refused to accept anything but a positive answer when they offered their house for temporary stay.

This is where they were right now, and the already small house seemed even tinier will nine people crumpled inside, waiting for Dirk, Jade, and Bec to come to their senses. Luckily, the house didn't suffer from a spirit attack: there was a shallow hole in the backyard surrounded by quivered burnt flowers, but other than that, it got out unharmed.

After they transported three unconscious bodies in the house and attended to the injured, Jake, Dave, Dane, Equius, and Nepeta went to pick up the vessels that were turned into simple jewellery now that the spirits left them. Rose, the one who suffered the most, both physically and mentally, stayed inside with Kanaya, who was overseeing the procedures done to Rose's legs. As Roxy explained, her mother was paranoid enough to get all kind of medical supplies at home, including plaster casts; that was fortunate, because neither of them were looking forward to coming out of the safe place and facing the authorities gathered around the disruption. Jake was pretty sure he saw a couple of police officers passing by, but Jane and Roxy’s house had a typical Sandford look and didn’t cause any suspicion.

Jane and Roxy joined them on their search later – they finally got their wedding rings back, although seemed reluctant to wear them. Jake wasn’t surprised at the slightest.

They picked up the stuff fallen out of the dirigible too – or that little part of it that survived the explosion. As if by the work of fate, it included all of Jake's, Jade's, and Dirk's journals; as for the rest, it was easily replaceable.

Except... Jake was disappointed to find the transmitter broken beyond repair. He knew Dirk wouldn't have a problem building another one, and it wasn't like they needed it anymore, but it was always sad to see a thing someone put so much thought in go.

That's why he was sad to admit that the dirigible was gone too – they didn't even bother to transport it from the meadow, it was no use. However, surprisingly, it didn't pain Jake as much as before. He knew that most broken things can be fixed – besides, it was just an object.

And in some ways, Jake thought it was symbolic to have the last remain of SkaiaNet destroyed.

Jake was saddened to realize that magic was gone for good now and he would never feel the liberation and power it gave him when it was awaking the deepest, oldest parts of his soul. He tried to imagine, to comprehend the fact that he was a direct descendant of one of the twelve magicians from the Legend Of Twelve Spirits – but even if it was an incredible thing to imagine, Jake knew that heritage wasn't everything, and it was the first time he was proud to bear his mother's surname (why did she have to die? It wasn't _fair_ ). It didn't really matter that his bloodline now included Feferi and John, it was much more important to make sure his new family stayed united and strong – even if by family he meant close friends. Like Rose, who has gone all the way along with them, and whom he has never thanked properly. Or the rest of the team that risked everything to help them out. Or Jane and Roxy, who had enough courage to not get lost when the panic of the evacuation began and lead it instead, and enough generosity to give their house for the new headquarters (and hiding). But most of all, Dirk.

Later, after the most drastic wounds were attended to, Roxy brought a medical kit to patch up the rest of the team, and Jake was surprised to find that he, indeed, was covered in bruises and cuts he didn't notice earlier because of adrenaline.

And then, of course, it was time to tell the whole story from the very beginning.

And everyone wanted to know what Feferi's goals and motivations were.

And that meant saying the names of the people responsible.

Jake chewed on his lip for several long moments, staring at the colourful woollen carpet on the floor, and finally said something about how Peixeses had a justified grudge against Harleys. He didn't want to make a decision about how much he should tell on his own: it was Jade's right, because she was the main victim of the situation, as well as Dirk's, because he was the link without whom their path towards the victory would have fallen apart. And simply because it should be their decision as a team.

Jake's explanation was far too vague for everyone to be satisfied, and he expected them to start asking questions – but when he lifted his head, Jane met his gaze, and there was kindness and understanding in her blue eyes.

She suggested they rest, and everyone agreed. But while Jake's body was tired and sore, his mind was racing and heart beating fast, finally catching up with the events of the day and refusing to believe it was over. He was tensed and constantly looked around, expecting more spirits to pop up from a cupboard or a kettle on the stove, and hated to be left alone in any part of the house even for mere seconds.

It was a relief when Jade and Bec woke up.

They were in Jane and Roxy's bedroom, Jade lying on the bed with her neck exposed, and a huge scar from where the dart hit her stood out like a flare in the sea, pale against brown skin. It found place among the other scars, like from the time Time burned her – all of these couldn’t be healed even with magic, and now even the magic was gone.

Bec was the first; perhaps, the differences in dog and human minds worked in his favour this time too. Jake rubbed behind his ears, and maybe it was wishful thinking, but now he could see the wise look Bec had. Jake could imagine him living with the Harleys, generation after generation, each family giving him a new name to cover up his immortality, until Jade found a name in the book that she thought was funny, and decided to give him. He pictured Bec observing the ways humanity changed, learning to understand language and gestures, adapting to every turn of progress and technology, and in the end becoming as smart as any human.

“How is Bec?” Jade asked as soon as she came to her senses, and Bec slumped on her, crashing her down with his weight. She laughed in delight and crashed both him and Jake in a hug, demanding to know what happened.

Jake was reluctant to tell her about the murders of Eridan and Feferi at first, thinking she might blame herself for that, but he also knew she deserved the truth and there was enough lying done anyway. However, she was smarter than this, and simply shook her head in disdain, saying she wished she could be the one to banish Space in the infinite void.

“There's one thing I don't understand,” Jade said, frowning. “Wasn't the whole big argument centred around the fact that Bec and I can't live past the opening of the barrier? How are we alive?”

Jake shrugged and said, “Dirk did something with the Heart powers, I don't know what.”

He also wanted to add that they shouldn't question the accidental miracles, just allow them to happen.

“Are you still… angry with him?” Jake asked, hesitating. Jade disapproving of their relationship wouldn't stop him from starting it, but it would be the worst.

Jade stroked Bec's ears, deep in thought.

“Kind of, yes,” she shook her head. “But at the same time, not really? It doesn’t make a lot of sense, I just... need some time. We'll figure it out. Are you?"

During the fight, Jake forgot about their argument, it was like they had an indirect reconciliation without noticing, because he knew Dirk was right and regretted his actions, and he knew that despite everything he still loved him, and their natural state of being was being together.

But just because he knew all of this didn't mean they shouldn't discuss it.

“No, I'm not. We got a chance to talk a bit, when you were – when you were out of commission. We didn't get past saying sorry, but still. I know that he meant well, even though he could have had a better execution, but I forgive him, and I hope he forgives me. You don't think it's me being blind again?” He asked, just in case.

"Actually, you seem to have your eyes pretty wide open now. I'm proud of you, Jake," Jade said seriously, and then smiled and punched his shoulder playfully to offset the mood. “Go get it, bro.”

Jake ruffled her hair, and she scowled in a mocking manner.

“You know, when I talked to Grandma and Grandpa, they said they liked him,” Jake said. “That’s all I ever wanted, but now... I kind of wish Mom was there instead.”

“Mom would've loved him...” Jade replied sadly. “Why do you think she wasn’t there?”

Jake thought for a long time before coming up with an answer.

“Maybe because Rose’s call was for the people who wished to fix their mistakes? Like a second chance. After all, becoming material to seal the portal was like dying for a second time for them. The rest moved on.”

“Moved on where?”

“I don’t know,” Jake said simply, and Jade lied still, staring at the ceiling, and both of them were thinking about the souls choosing this exact timeline to come in, which might mean this really was the best possible turn of events for them.

Jade got tired of lying in bed pretty quickly and they went downstairs, where a hurricane of questions swept her off her feet (“How are you?”, “Do you remember anything?”, “What was it like?”).

Personally, Jake wanted to ask what it felt like to almost die. But this could wait – now they had all the time in the world.

Surrounding Jade with people who engaged her in conversations about reminiscing on today's events that she missed allowed Jake to have an excuse to sit with Dirk, because that's where he wanted to be the most.

Jake knew he would take longer than Jade to come to his senses, considering the attack his mind was under, and steady pulse on his neck told him that, for once, there was nothing to worry about.

It was early evening in Sandford; an insatiable day died out, drinking its full of their misery and happiness. Jake opened the window in the tiny room to see the sky turning deep velvety blue, and let cool autumn breeze smelling of smoke wash over Dirk, moving light strands of his hair.

With this quietness and the lack of others constantly talking and asking questions came a possibility to think about things he couldn't avoid any longer.

Jade and he were brought up in lies, and Jake should have felt angry and betrayed – but at the same time he remembered the way June’s and Joss's ghosts looked at him, and how much they clearly loved their grandchildren, and he desperately hoped it wasn't an act.

When Dirk opened his eyes, he jerked upwards, gazing around wildly, and grabbed his torn shirt, where the blade used to pierce his heart.

“Everything's okay,” Jake smiled at him in reassurance, and spread his arms, keeping his voice steady to show they were safe now. “We are at Jane and Roxy's.”

Dirk was still tense as he looked around the room more carefully, and rubbed his forehead.

“Crap, how much action did I miss? How are Jade and Bec, did it work?"

Jake tilted his head in curiosity. "Did what work, your weird Heart thing?"

"Yes," he pulled himself up to a half-sitting position. "I healed her soul."

"Healed?" Jake echoed.

"It's... Hard to explain, humans don't have words for the concepts spirits think in," Dirk said, making a vague gesture. "But if I had to find the closest analogy… When I looked through the eyes of Heart, the way I saw Jade's soul, it's like she was infected, so I pulled the virus out. However, Bec's situation was completely different, and a lot more difficult. His soul was a pure vessel, I couldn't simply cure it. The only way to get rid of Space was to destroy his soul completely, but I couldn't let him die, I've already killed him once,” he glanced at Jake apologetically. “For that, I'm sorry. I could've created a brand new soul for him, I know it was within my powers, but there wasn't enough time, and I suppose I was just scared to mess it up – so instead I've ripped a piece of Jade's soul out and stashed it in Bec. This way they will even keep the status quo with their soul connection. And once Bec dies, Jade will be whole again. I'm glad it worked."

Dirk smiled gently, and Jake just stared at him, trying to process how can someone be this amazing.

"This is incredible," he said finally, not caring how awed it sounded. "You are incredible. Don't argue."

Dirk just shook his head, and brushing the scar on his chest briefly.

"What was it like, to be one with the spirit?" Jake couldn't resist asking.

Dirk thought for a moment. "Quite an exhausting experience, one star out of ten, would not recommend."

"You said before, it felt like a million axes were striking you."

"Did I?" Dirk asked, slightly confused.

Jake frowned in concern. "You don't remember?"

Dirk shrugged.

"I remember everything, but it's like a blur, it's hard to distinguish between what was real and what I imagined. Although I don't reckon I was capable of imagining much at that moment, so I should assume everything was real," he paused for a long time, and Jake let him process whatever he was remembering. “I think... I think humans are not meant to see the world the way the spirits see. They exist on another plane of reality that works in a way completely different from ours. All those souls… It was too much."

A barely noticeable sigh escapes his lips and Jake took his hand, brushing a thumb over his knuckles and entwining their fingers.

"Jake, we agreed to talk," Dirk said, looking their hands intently.

"Yes, we did," Jake smiled, anticipation prickling his skin, and his smile was met with an intent stare.

"I apologize for being so rough in proving my point. I thought it would be the fastest way of showing I'm right. But I should have taken into consideration the way it'll make you feel, and that killing someone to prove their immortality may be the most logical way, but not the most ethical."

Jake smiled wider, every word destroying the last shadows of a doubt.

"Frankly, I don't think I'd listen if you were gentle,” he replied. Admitting his mistakes was so easy now that everything was settled. “I don't think I'd listen in any case, since I was a stubborn ass. I'm sorry I shouted at you and denied everything you say without thinking. And I'm sorry I called you… You know. I don't really think that, honestly, I was just looking for the dumbest thing I could say."

Jake thought that maybe this was the push he needed to progress forward. Maybe this is why the future Jake was such a miserable person, he didn't have this moment that set things right.

Dirk's hand tightened around Jake's.

“That's quite alright. I suppose we both screwed this up," Dirk said; he seemed to be extremely interested in the ceiling. "And I guess there is only one thing left to be said. One final truth I withheld from you, although for more selfish reasons rather than altruistic saving-the-world ones. In any case,” he cleared his throat, and said, after the briefest of pauses, “I love you.”

Jake looked at him, aware that his expression is quivering into something incomprehensible, and his heart pounded in his ears, because that was _it_ , that was the moment he dreamed of.

Failing to get a reply, Dirk glanced at Jake momentarily and carried on talking to the ceiling while slowly started to disentangle his hand from Jake's, “You see, it was a very strategic emotion used for everyone's benefit, seeing how it would mean I can't hurt you even when I'm possessed, allowing you to lead the team into battle-”

He's waited long enough.

He closed the distance between them and smashed their lips together, pouring all the longing he felt since day one, all the gratitude for amazing things he's done, and the desire to be together.

Glasses were knocked off as getting in the way, and this was the last clear thought Jake had, because who needs thinking when Dirk's mouth parted for him eagerly, and his hands grabbed the sides of his neck, tilting his head. Leaning over the bed was awkward, so Jake climbed on top of Dirk without breaking the kiss, straddling his thighs and pulling on his hair, which made a tiny noise of pleasure rumble in Dirk's throat.

His tongue darted over Jake's lips, and if his head wasn't spinning already, he would certainly lose it now – the kiss was messy, and passionate, and devastating, the amount of contact was so overwhelming, it was so much better than any of his fantasies.

Dirk scraped his fingernails down Jake's spine, and Jake gasped, arching his back and pressing his whole body against his, skin feeling like one raw nerve.

Dirk's hand came to rest on his shoulder blades, pressing their bodies even closer, wrapping around Jake tightly, as though he was afraid to let him go, and Jake just kept kissing him everywhere he could reach.

It was too much and too little at the same time, and pleasant heat was overtaking his body, and Jake really wished they wouldn't wear this much clothes – and at the same time feared taking things to the next level so sporadically.

So he made a huge effort to leave his lips and plant a trail of quick kisses down his jawline and neck.

Dirk groaned, “Oh my god, Jake,” and Jake stilled, drinking in his rasp voice, unable to move further apart than mere centimetres, admiring the sight of Dirk's flushed cheeks and parted red lips and lowered eyelids covering dilated pupils.

Dirk was running his fingers through Jake's hair, sending new sparks of desire that didn't want to die out, and his expression was of such raw wonder mixed with desire he wanted to kiss him again – and then again for the rest of the day, the year, the timeline.

“Wow,” Jake breathed in, because his head was spinning and his blood was on fire, and there was nothing else he could master.

Dirk seemed to have the same problem, because he only answered, “Yeah”, out of breath, just like Jake.

“I love you so much, Dirk,” Jake murmured and Dirk shook, laughing soundlessly, and brought him closer, if it was even possible.

“Really? And here I thought you'd say I'm an asshole and you never want to see me again,” he said, giving him a sweet kiss in the corner of the mouth.

Jake hummed, his eyes flattering close.

“Actually, I plan on seeing you every day from now on,” he stroked the sides of his face, marvelling at the idea of simply being able to _do_ it , and cracked one eye open. “Would you like that? Would you like to move in with me?”

Dirk watched him seriously. “I want to say, yes, absolutely, and throw myself into your arms, but...”

He shrugged helplessly.

“Is it about your job?” Jake prompted. “Because I'm sure Equius will let you leave after all you've done, and you won't have a problem finding a new one.”

“It's not about the job,” he shrugged with one shoulder. “Actually, forget I said anything, moving in with you would be terrific, let's do this.”

Jake frowned and straightened his back, running his thumbs over Dirk's collarbone, earning an audible gulp from him.

“You are not going to get away with this, mister,” Jake said. “You'd better talk, or… Or I'll never get off you.”

“Honestly, that was supposed to be a threat?” Dirk smirked and hooked his fingers into Jake's belt loops, looking somewhere over his shoulder.

“You know what kind of man I can be and how I can act,” he said finally. “Right now we won and everything's all fine and good, but in the future this can be a problem. I don't want to disappoint you and make you regret this decision, that's all.”

“I thought we've already agreed never to become our future selves.”

“Can you guarantee we won't though?”

“Yes,” Jake said with confidence. “Because us from the parallel universe didn't have this.”

He intended to give Dirk a quick chaste kiss on the lips, but once he did, Dirk cupped his face, and they were making out again, much slower and thorough this time. It was so easy to dive into this to forget the image of Jade gargling with her own blood flashing before his mind's eye ever so often.

“You're distracting me from what I'm trying to say,” Dirk said after they broke off, barely brushing his lips over Jake's, in a way that made him tingle all over.

“That's the idea,” Jake hummed.

“Still, I have to say it. I'm not a very good man, Jake.”

“So are all of us,” Jake said, looking directly into his eyes. “I didn't say you don't have flaws at all. Yet you are still amazing. Not everything's black and white, I know it now. Grandma and Grandpa taught me that,” he smiled sadly. “They told me about how Space ended up in Jade's soul, you were right about everything.”

“How do you feel? About them, I mean.”

Jake thought about Jade, who asked the same question with a pained and betrayed expression, and told Dirk the same answer he told her.

“Frankly? I don't know. I've talked to them and they've explained everything, but… I guess it's a good thing that at least there _is_ an explanation. And I know I will forgive them, eventually. But, maybe not just yet,” he sighed. They didn't know Dirk would be there to take control of Heart. They expected Jade to sacrifice herself with Bec, along with the rest of the vessels.

Jake shook his head and continued, “I know they made horrible mistakes, but they spent the end of their lives trying to atone to them, and I think there are still reasons to love them – for all the good things they've done, not the bad ones. I think people who show remorse, understand their faults and try to fix them deserve to be forgiven.”

“Wow, you've become wise,” Dirk's tone was light when he brushed the hair off Jake's forehead, but there was an underlying seriousness in his touch.

Jake hummed, leaning in. “I had to grow up eventually. Better late than never. I understand a lot of things now, the things Grandma used to say that didn't make sense when we were kids.”

Like the stories they told, and weird, out of nowhere phrases, like _there's always a time when your faith in everything you believe in is tested, and you'd better to have it early on, when you can still change_. Of course, now Jake knew she was probably expecting to be killed in revenge, and tried to prepare them, tried to underlie a foundation for forgiveness – and for self-sacrifice that would end the danger of the spirits.

Jake readjusted himself, flipping to sit next to Dirk, shoulders pressed together.

"So, what happened to my katana, is it gone?" Dirk asked.

"Yes, I had to throw it into the void, I'm sorry."

"Whatever," he said it a tone that clearly showed he was heartbroken.

"Actually, I talked to Equius, he will help me make you a new katana, as an apology present. Maybe I'll learn some blacksmithery, it's about time I learn one of the most useful skills to get on with the modern world," Jake smiled in attempt to cheer him up. "Oh, and maybe this will make you feel better, I retrieved your shades when the spirit threw them away."

Jake took the shades out of the desk drawer and placed them into Dirk's open palms.

He looked over them and then over Jake like he was the most incredible thing he's ever seen.

"I need to marry you, pronto."

Jake nodded, saying without thinking, "Okay."

They stared at each other for a long time, and blush gradually covered Jake's cheeks, and before he dropped his gaze on his lap, suddenly embarrassed, he noticed Dirk's were dull pink too.

"Well, hm," Dirk said. "It was a joke..."

"Yeah," Jake added hastily, feeling the tips of his ears reddening too. "Let's wait a couple of years."

"Deal," Dirk smiled, and they fell into a comfortable silence for a while.

He couldn't imagine that mere three months ago they both were leading boring lives, not knowing each other, and he pitied all his other selves from parallel universes where they never did.

Dirk put the shades on and tapped them. “Anyway, thanks. Finally I'm whole again. Well, except for this," he jabbed a finger at the scar on his chest.

“We are scar buddies now,” Jake pressed his fingers to a thick pale line crossing Dirk's chest, sensing his fast steady heartbeat. It was already faded, flesh-coloured, like it’s been here for years; Jake trailed his fingers on the uneven skin and rested his hand there, like his touch could cure it at once.

He wondered what Dirk felt like in the seconds before the spell was activated, and how scary it was, because what if Rose failed the translation? In a flash, the memories of the beginning of the battle rushed to him, Jade's terror and pain, loss of gravity, the screams, the spirit realm, Dirk's blade piercing his chest and blood streaming down…

Jake shook his head in attempt to clear his mind and his hands dropped – there was no need to remember this now, everything was over.

Even though he knew there was no way he would ever forget today's events.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Jake asked to take his mind off it, and Dirk dropped his head to the side, his hair tickling Jake's cheek.

“The same reason you didn't tell me,” Dirk's tone was slightly amused.

“What, you were afraid of rejection?” The notion seemed hilarious.

“I suppose. Besides, I thought it was obvious – I was kinda freaking out about how obvious it was...”

It was nice to stay like this in peace, shoulders pressed together, when even talking wasn't necessary – but they did talk, about everything June and Joss did, about Eridan and Feferi and what they were going to do with the knowledge they received, and how the latter helped them out in the battle.

The topic of their future wasn't brought up, but for the first time Jake looked forward to planning every detail of Dirk's moving in, settling, renovating the house, writing his new series of novels, and many other things.

Jake had no desire to leave Dirk's warm embrace, even though he knew the others were waiting to see him, and the only thing that made him get out of the tiny bedroom was Dirk saying he needed to talk to Jade.

Jake realized that Dirk didn't have any chance to apologize to Jade yet, and agreed, kissing him briefly before going downstairs – which actually held them up for several more minutes.

The house didn't have a lot of places to sit, so everyone, except for Equius, Nepeta and Kanaya, gathered in the living room, while Roxy told everyone about the evacuation.

“So then he,” she gestured at Dane wildly, “Says, go inside the portal, and of course, we were like, what the fuck, portals are real? He says, go inside and find out. So we think, to hell with it, let's try it out, and go through this weird hole, and end up in a freaking palace! You should've seen my Mom's face. Actually, I'm glad she got stuck there with Jane's Dad… Can you imagine what her reaction to all of this would be? Poor John though, I _so_ _oo_ don't want to be in his place  right now...”

Roxy trailed off and finally spotted them in the doorway.

“Oh, hi again, Dirk! Glad to see you're alright,” she waved at him, and Jane smiled.

Jade's eyes bore into them, and of course, she had to ask directly, “So did you two confess your undying love for each other or what?”

“Oh my god, Jade,” Jake muttered, blushing furiously, and covered his face with a hand, leaning Dirk's forearm.

“I'll take that as a yes,” she said, satisfied. “Shame, I'm gonna miss your awkward attempts in flirting.”

She smiled, showing he didn't mean any harm.

“Jade, a word, in private?” Dirk asked, motioning her to go outside, and sadly, Jake had to release him and watch them exit through the front door.

Jake sat on the place on the couch Jade vacated, and looked everywhere but at Jane, suddenly feeling uneasy about displaying his affections towards Dirk in front of her, especially in her own house, seeing how their last meetings weren't exactly friendly. Yes, she said she forgave him, but still, he felt like Jane still could be angry at him.

Jake wouldn't blame her, of course.

He quickly searched for a topic for a conversation, but all the thoughts seemed Dirk-related. His gaze landed on Dave and Dane, and he thought the last thing that was left to do make everything perfect was for Dirk to reconcile with his brothers.

“So, uh. Are you going to give me the 'if you hurt him, I'll going to kill you' talk?”

Dave and Dane exchanged brief glances, and Dane said, “The only thing I'm going to say is good luck with that piece of work.”

“He's a huge asswipe,” Dave added matter-of-factly. “However, if you do hurt him, you will suffer.”

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like they would hug each other and cry rivers of brotherly tears, apologizing for their mistakes, but he supposed this was a start. Jake knew one day they will find the common ground and will be the way brothers are supposed to be.

When Dirk and Jade returned, both looked calm, so with relief, Jake figured they've reached their own conciliation.

Jade smiled at him, confirming his guess, and Dirk stood behind the couch, leaning on its back and placing his chin on top of Jake's head.

Jake accidentally caught Jane's eye and to his surprise, she looked positively nonchalant, leaning against Roxy in a similar position. Of course, she was smart enough to realize that dwelling on the past wouldn't do her any good long time ago.

“What are you so happy about?” Dave asked, eyes moving from Dirk to Jake. “We have a trial ahead of us, you'd better be prepared.”

“A trial?” Dirk asked.

“Yep, the Empire versus what the fuck did Harley, English and Strider do. Big surprise – a chunk of land appearing out of nowhere, unauthorized moving of the population of an entire city, weirdass cracks in the sky and giant killer monsters destroying everything they could reach attracted some attention. Although I've already asked John if he can give us political asylum, he said he's cool with it.”

“You are welcome to stay for the night before facing the reporters and other inquiring people,” Jane suggested, and Jake smiled at her gratefully.

“Good luck with proving we are not lying...” Jade mused.

“This may help,” Dane said and laid a pack of photos on the table, depicting various scenes from the battle; Jade grabbed a bunch and inspected them with a mix of hungry curiosity and anguish.

“I saw a camera lying on the ground,” Dane explained, “And took the opportunity to produce some proof, seeing how I predicted there are going to be people willing to blame all the distraction on us. However, I hope you realize that the Empire is most likely to hush it all up, and if the Empress wants, she would send all of us to jail anyway. So you'd better find ways to scare her with your talks of magic, even if they will be made-up.”

"Ask Jake, he's good with making up stories," Jade noted off-handedly, and surprisingly, making up a lie for the court seemed like an easy task that moment.

***

It was impossible to sleep.

The living room was too dark and too quite, full of uneven breathing of Jake, Jade, Bec, Dave, and Dane mixed with Dirk's own.

It must be three in the morning, but never once Dirk could close his eyes without jerking awake from the memories flooding inside. He didn't even begin to express what being in control of Heart really was like; he didn't want to reveal his own weaknesses, as well as scaring his friends.

They didn't need to know that he used to craved souls of the innocent like water in the desert, the same way he craved Jake's presence; or disoriented feel of seeing a brand new incomprehensible world that was so indescribable his brain was overloaded trying to process it; or having his organism being torn apart and revived, feeling the hot metal of the blade stuck in his heart, beating around it, all while making sure Heart couldn't take control of his mind...

He flipped on the side in his sleeping bag, staring at Jake's handsome features illuminated by faint moonlight, just to stare at something – because he knew once he closed his eyes, the world would burn with nonexistent colours again.

Jake's eyebrows creased, and Dirk brushed a hand over his hair in a feeble attempt to calm down whatever memories he was reliving.

He remembered seeing his soul – he didn't lie when he said he couldn't describe what he saw. A human soul was an unexplainable clot of concentrated power, a terrifying weapon, and a tenacious barrier, all at once, making the purest matter there was.

Apparently, the universe, karma, or whatever determined fate out there, decided that saving the souls of three people and a dog was enough to forgive him for technically being a killer and grant him all his wishes.

Normally, it was a matter of time before he did something disappointing – but he hoped he had enough time to fix himself before this happened. Jake and Jade didn't deserve any more disappointments.

Contrary to popular belief, Dirk had hard time imagining his distant future. But if Jake was right and today was a key point of averting the fate he learnt in the future, there was some hope for him, after all.

He recalled his private conversation with Jade earlier.

"Jade, I would like to talk to you," he said as soon as the door closed behind them.

"Of course, about what?" She asked in a way that made it perfectly clear: she knew, she just wanted him to say it out loud.

"I'm sorry for acting rough and shooting Bec. I should've found another way to show you the truth."

Jade nodded and with great relief, Dirk saw her smiling. "Your apology is accepted. You are not the only one who did things they're not proud of in that argument, and I'm sorry for losing my temper. And I must say..." she turned serious again. "Dirk, I like you. And I know Jake loves you a lot. But if you are going to be with him, the thing you did with Bec, it mustn’t be repeated. I don't care how confident you are in doing the right thing, if you break his heart, I will _destroy_ you."

There was a steely glint in her eyes, and Dirk thought he could still see traces of Space in her, even though he knew it was gone for good.

"I know, Jade," he replied, hoping his voice conveyed the seriousness with which he treated her words. "And, there is something you should know about Bec. He is not immortal anymore, and he is very old, I don't think he will last for long, especially on the borrowed soul.”

Jake shook her head, as if telling him she didn't want to focus on it.

“Can you please not talk about death right now?”

“I just wanted you to be prepared,” Dirk said.

“Everything has its end, I know, I don’t need a reminder,” Jade pinched the bridge of her nose. “He is alive now, that's what matters, and I don’t want to worry about anything else. Thank you for saving him. It's more than I could've hoped for. Although...” She bit her lip nervously. “How am I going to live with an incomplete soul?”

“You won't even notice it, a half of a soul has more than enough power to keep an organism functioning," Dirk replied, thinking that even a millionth part of a soul would be enough to keep a human alive. "And once Bec dies, your soul will be complete again. Don’t worry, his mind, memories, and intelligence are completely untouched.”

Jade sighed at the word 'dies' and peeked inside the window to watch Bec lying on the floor among their friends, and after a few long moments turned to face Dirk.

"Friends again?" She smiled and extended a hand.

"Best friends forever," Dirk said solemnly, shaking her hand in the most posh manner he could master, and Jade laughed in a way that didn't sound entirely genuine and promised to make him a friendship bracelet.

But despite the joking tone, he really meant it. Jade really was a great person, and he was happy he didn't lose her friendship.

Returning from his memory lane, he glanced at her lying on the couch briefly; her long black hair were streaming down, falling right onto Bec.

Dirk turned around again, unable to find a comfortable position, and draped a hand over Jake, enjoying the fact now he could do it deliberately, and not because of some lucky happenstance like that time in the future.

Now that the haze of happiness died out, and he sobered up from the high of victory, Dirk knew that their decision to live together (the one he desperately wanted) was haste from a practical point of view. He really should have stayed with Centaur Technologies for some time, waited till he saved enough money and only then come back as a man having some pennies to his name.

He should have waited to become a better man.

He will have nothing to bring into the household, so he would have to work really hard to make a significant income. In his mind, Dirk was already picturing the subsidiary company of Centaur Technologies, maybe he would overtake the basement to be his workshop – Jake and Jade didn't use it anyway – and with all the _ghosts_ walking around the house he was positive they'd want reconstruction – and build an outhouse where he would meet the clients. This way he wouldn't spend too much on rent, and have more time to work. He hoped Equius would let him leave – he could always just slam a door in his face, but he's already done it to enough people.  It was the thing of the past.

Perhaps he should wait three months before leaving, this seemed to be the optimal period. This way he would have enough time to work something out that wouldn't make him a dead weight on Jake's shoulders. Maybe he could fix and patent the portal glove, that would certainly make a ton of money – although he wasn't sure the magic it had could ever be replicated in technology. He wondered in what ways he could show Jake he wasn't with him for the wealth.

“I can tell by the look on your face you are overthinking something again,” Jake whispered, and Dirk tilted his head to look at him; his eyes were open and clear, no trace of sleep in them.

“Call the reporters, the psychic's in the house,” Dirk whispered back. “Can't sleep?”

“No,” Jake murmured against his shoulder; it was a pleasant tickling sensation. “Keep thinking about...”

He trailed off, but there was no continuation needed.

The images were clear as day: Jade, then Feferi and Eridan, adding to the already present deaths of Anna and Jacob, sharpening the faint sense of dread to a point where Dirk was sure it ought to become a permanent part of him. Of them.

Dirk didn't know if there was a resolution for this, at least for now, so he simply kissed him, threading his fingers through the short hairs on the nape of Jake's neck, which he seemed to like a lot – shortly, however, since both were aware of the other people in the room.

“Maybe we should go outside,” Jake said, draping his arms around Dirk's neck. “To, um, clear our heads.”

Then they both jerked when Jade's absolutely unexpected whisper rang, “Oh thank god, I thought you'll start making out right here.”

“Jade, what the heck?” Jake hissed, the red colour of his ears visible even in the darkness. “Why are you awake?”

“In case you forgot, brother dear, I've spent eight hours being unconscious, I've had enough sleep for a lifetime.”

Dirk knew this was just a cover story for the real reason, and Jake must've realized it too, because he asked Jade to join them in walking outside.

"With pleasure," Jade whispered back, and beckoned Becquerel.

The night was chilly outside; the grass under their bare feet was wet with cool dew. Their breath left barely noticeable puffs in the air, and Dirk regretted not wearing anything over the thin shirt immediately.

But Jade flopped on her back with her hands behind her head, gazing up in the cloudless sky where a bright circle of the moon hung among twinkling stars, and Jake sat next to her and Bec, pulling Dirk down and flinging an arm around his shoulders; and suddenly he didn't want to go anywhere.

They sat in silence for a while, and then Jake asked, staring at the sky as well, "Where do you think the spirits are right now? What if they travelled to the stars?"

"There are no stars in the infinite void, there is absolutely nothing there," Jade replied easily and shrugged under Jake's questioning look. "I know it's weird, but I think I understand the world better now, even though I don't remember anything, as if Space left some traces in me that connect me to the matters of the universe."

Dirk frowned. "It can't be, I cured your soul, I guarantee it."

"I know, I believe you, but it's different. Like... Space gave me some sort of knowledge which I don't fully understand yet."

"Could be useful for your future career in Sandford Science Centre," Jake suggested, and Jade laughed.

"Maybe. Although I can't walk into SSC and be like, hey guys, I feel that there are a lot more elements in the periodic table than we think, let's explore them."

Jake shook with laughter as well.

"If they don't accept you after everything that happened, I will really doubt their intelligence."

"Also, if you ever need to someone to knock on their doors twenty-four hours a day or just blow the fuckers up, you know where to find me," Dirk added.

"Thanks guys," Jade snorted. "You're paragons of diplomacy. By the way, I understand the way physics works, Jake has learnt wisdom of life and death... And what's your big spiritual revelation, Dirk?"

It was an easy question, since the answer constantly crept at the corner of his mind.

"People, I suppose, seeing how I saw through souls of everyone there. Don't worry, souls don't store memories and feelings, I didn't learn anything I'm not supposed to," he reassured, afraid to betray their trust once more.

"Oh," Jake actually sounded disappointed. "I wish they would, this way you could see... Hmm," he cleared his throat and glanced at Jade. "Anyway, what do you think about the void? Will the spirits ever appear again?"

"The barrier will be worn out after another two thousand years, just like it did before," Jade said. "And the monsters we sealed there will be waiting for their hour, but they are not spirits, they won't bring as much chaos. As for the void... The spirits are incapable of tearing the walls of the worlds down, that's for sure."

"Maybe the creatures inhabiting it can," Jake mused.

"There's nothing in the void, Jake."

"Yes, there is, I'm sure of it, I think I saw them, or rather, I felt them," Jake looked at Dirk, and he squeezed his waist to show support. "If there are spirits, why can't there be creatures made of nothingness, that feed on things that don't exist, like timelines that never happened?"

"Can't argue with that," Dirk said. Who knew how many different realms were there and who knew what means protected their world from them.

Jake smiled at him gratefully, and this smile still made his heart stutter.

“I would love to know what it's like to be there,” he mused.

“But you were, all of us were there,” Jade said, and continued upon noticing Jake's confused look. “When you opened the portals! That's how the portals work, they open wormholes through the void, a dimension where measurements don't exist.”

“Is that your Space part talking again?” Dirk asked.

“Yep, physics,” Jade patted her chest.

"As an expert, do you think we'd be able to create portals without magic?"

Jade furrowed her brows, deep in thought.

"I think so, yes. We'll just have to develop science well enough, and who knows, maybe we'll live to see it!"

Soft footsteps rustled the grass, and they saw Dave coming out of the house, flattening his hair.

"Mind if I join your midnight philosophical rambles?"

"Sure!" Jade said brightly, while Dirk's hold around Jake's waist tightened defensively.

He didn't know what he was expecting, for them to laugh at him, or criticize, or say he didn't deserve it, but he couldn't deny he didn't worry about his brother's opinion at all. And even after Dave's proved to be reliable, Dirk's automatic reaction was still assuming the worst.

Jake rubbed a hand up and down his back in a comforting gesture.

Dave flopped on the grass next to Jade and asked, "So what are we talking about?"

"You know, the usual mundane staff," Jade sang. "Infinite void, spirits, and souls, the laws of life and death."

"Makes me kinda jealous of you lot, to be honest," Dave said. "Wish I was possessed by a spirit to unlock the secret power within."

"You want to be shot in the neck and almost die choking on blood? You are welcome to swap fates with me," Jade said, tone a little harsh, and she stroked Bec's head to calm down.

Dave lied on his side, propping his head on a hand (he called it his "cool pose"), and said, "Well, when you put it like that it sounds really horrible."

Jade recognized it as a carefully disguised apology, and nudged him playfully.

Perhaps it was good for Jade to become friends with Dave, Dirk thought. Although busying herself with scientific research would be a good enough distraction on its own, she would need a lot more friends to handle being apart from Jake.

"So, Dirk, if you say there are no memories in our souls, what _do_ they contain then?" Jake asked, peering at him curiously; of course, it was only natural for everyone to be interested in the matter. It was a matter of time before they start asking what their souls look like.

"Your essence, I suppose, personality, what kind of a human you are," Dirk said. He remembered having a chance to look at his own soul – and never acting on it, terrified of what he could see. "It's also your life source."

But Jake asked something truly unexpected.

"Is this why you brought Eridan and Feferi back to life? Because you saw what kind of people they were?"

Dirk faltered, suddenly too aware of three pairs of eyes boring into him.

"I would've brought them back regardless," he said, "simply because I wanted to oppose the yearning for destruction that made up Heart's essence. But Feferi really has a chance to be a good person, and even Eridan, if he tries hard enough."

“What about Grandpa and Grandma?” Jade asked quietly.

“They were good people too," Dirk said confidently. "They certainly had the capacity to be compassionate, to understand their wrongdoings and feel true remorse. I think they really loved you, and the reason why they kept secrets from you was because they didn't want to darken your childhood with prophecies of death.”

Jake exhaled with great relief, as if a load was taken off his heart.

He was still seeking consolation – and, most likely, would continue doing so for years.

However, Jade was far from reassured. Their betrayal hit her the hardest, and it would take her a much longer time to consider forgiveness.

Suddenly they heard Roxy's voice saying "Hey guys!" and saw her and Jane carrying a bunch of blankets; the latter was yawning widely.

"We heard voices," she explained.

"Yeah," Roxy continued, "Jane thought those were thieves, but I caught the sweet tune of our good old pal Jake, and figured you'd want some blankets for your slumber party."

The warmth of the blanket thrown over his and Jake's shoulders was very much welcomed.

Roxy wrapped herself in the thickest one and peered at them.

"Are you talking about the spirits? Will you tell me something more about them? I'm planning to write this story, you know."

"Hey, I called first dibs!" Jake protested.

"You will write your vision, I'll write mine," she winked. "I'll call it _The Legend of Twelve Spirits, the hot and juicy edition_ by RoLal. The readers will swoon."

Jane shook her head fondly. "I think Jake has more rights to this story, sorry, Rox."

"Okay, okay, I'll write mine once you publish your series. It's going to be so much more piquant anyway," Roxy raised her hands in defeat, and Jade giggled.

“Are we assigning jobs, is it what we're doing?” Dave raised his hand. “I call dibs on being the illustrator then.”

Dirk caught his wrist and forced it back on the ground – this was the first time they've touched outside of the battle, and he knew Dave realized it as well.

“I was under the impression Jake actually wants his books to sell,” he said.

“Never said I wanted to work with Jake,” Dave pointed a finger gun at Roxy, and she toppled over laughing.

Jane and Roxy continued to talk more about what they saw on Halitus, and soon everyone was laughing out loud with Roxy's commentary – it was so easy to see fun in the situation now.

"We really ought to thank John for all this," Jade said, wiping the tears of laughter.

"This can be arranged," Dave said. "He gave me his mailing address: Halitus Island, the huge ass palace."

"Kanaya may help us with connections," Dirk suggested, and turned to the house. "Speak of the devil."

Kanaya, Rose, Dane, Equius, and Nepeta all joined them, in various states of sleepiness.

Kanaya was leading Rose carefully, who insisted on walking without crutches despite both of her legs being in casts.

"How do you expect us to sleep with all the roaring laughter outside," Equius said.

"Sorry," Jane and Roxy replied in unison, even though the latter didn't look sorry at all. "You can go back if you want, we'll keep quiet."

"Nah," Nepeta said, stretching, and everyone joined them in sitting – the backyard was becoming really crowded. Strangely enough, it felt really good.

"If we knock stargazing off the list, our date thingie won't be a complete failure," Nepeta told Equius, pointing a finger at the moon.

"Oh, you guys wanted to go on a date?" Roxy exclaimed. "Sorry, all of this got in the way."

"Are you kidding me?" Dave gasped in fake indignation. "I would kill for a date that involves saving the world and punching some spirits into the void stuff."

Everyone laughed again, and Dirk shivered despite himself – even the blanket couldn't save them completely from the cold of the deep night.

Jake made a familiar gesture of lighting up the fire – but, of course, it was never came. Jake shot him an apologetic smile, explaining it was a reflex he won't be able to get rid of fast.

"You know what the most ironic thing is?" Dirk told him. "I could've used magic if we haven’t sealed the portal off, Heart enhanced my soul and left some residual energy from our connection."

"Yeah, it's going to take a while to relearn to do things the old-fashioned way," Jake sighed, settling against his shoulder more comfortably. "I think I'm going to miss the portal glove the most, it was so cool to travel from place to place in a matter of seconds."

"And brewing potions was really great," Jade added sadly.

"And I've just began teaching myself basic levitation," Roxy complained, and the rest of the group carried on talking about what magical spells they liked the most.

At one point, Rose cleared her throat and, after making sure everyone was paying attention to her, said, “At this point, most of you are probably still on victory high, but trust me, crashing down is a lot tougher than you think. Please remember that I am a licensed therapist. If the memories of today become unbearable, you can always seek support within the Tentacle Therapist office.”

“Just don’t get her too swamped,” Kanaya added and placed a protective hand of Rose’s knee, tone slightly displeased. “If Rose is unavailable, you have each other. Everyone in the current circle will listen to you if you ask them to.”

She looked over the group, as if daring them to oppose, but everyone made noises of agreement.

Dirk agreed too; while the though of needing a therapist was still something he couldn't accept, he was ready for anyone to want to discuss their experiences with him. He thought that he might even use it as an excuse to approach Dave and Dane.

"I wish my guitar wasn't smashed to smithereens," Jade said, gazing at the moon and then at the others. "The mood really calls for an acoustic song, something about stars, brave new world, and new friendships, and how amazing the universe we live in is."

She strummed imaginary strings.

Having all of them here, regardless of what relationship they had, was very nice, Dirk thought.

It wasn't perfect, but it was as close to perfection as it ever was. How could he ever think his old bland lonely life was enough.

They sat like this for a long time, till the pale dawn began lightening the sky – soft and pink and brand new – talking about everything and nothing; and Dirk thought that this company, and the heat of Jake's body pressed against his, the glances they exchanged sometimes, his secretive smiles and fingers brushing the skin – this was everything.

And he knew it was something the others felt too: despite everything, they didn't want to be anywhere else but here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, guys, this is almost the end.  
> The last chaper will be a short epilogue.


	18. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the end is always a new beginning.
> 
> Why wait when I can post the epilogue today? **Be sure not to miss chapter 17 posted earlier!**

_Two years later._

It was just another average day when something that has never broken down broke down; and with a heavy heart, Jake had to throw the cake with a sickly brownish crust into the garbage. It flopped miserably and joined its two siblings that suffered from the same fate.

Jake let out a tragic sigh and sat next to Dirk at the kitchen counter.

“The oven is broken,” he said, glancing at the clock, realizing he didn't have enough time for a new try and that the wisest thing was to give up. It was a shame to let such a brilliant idea he had at six in the morning go, but the hour hand was already reaching ten, which meant the train from Sandford has already arrived.

“You know that you don't have to make anything,” Dirk said without lifting his eyes off the manual he was reading and reached out to cover Jake's hand in a comforting gesture. “Jade will appreciate simply being here, as well as the others.”

Jake glared at the journal as if it personally offended him – perhaps getting jealous of Dirk because of his job was weird, but he couldn't do anything about it.

“You promised not to work today,” Jake couldn't help his accusing tone, leaning over Dirk's shoulder and peeking in the pages where he recognized some versions of the improved camera tube – a part of the commission given to Centaur Technologies, Nocteville branch: a portable television set.

“I'm not working,” Dirk's predictable answer was. “I'm just looking at some relatable literature because I'm particularly fond of cathode ray tubes and the ways different types affect light sensitivity… Okay, okay, I'm done,” he closed the journal and pushed it away, turning his head and planting a soft kiss at Jake's temple.

Well, maybe there was one thing – he always could simply ask him.

The year has changed the last digit twice since the day they closed the barrier, and perhaps it seemed like a lot on the calendar, but in fact it felt like nothing at all. There was enough drastic changes in their lives to keep them busy, without being focused on time, and Dirk conducted enough weird experiments to keep their daily life far away from being mundane.

Everytime Dirk would start speaking at length about various ways a harmless invention like television could go horribly wrong, Jake would jokingly call him a mad scientist and said he was going to use him as a prototype for the villain in his next novel. Dirk smirked and said he would agree only if Jake will base the main character he's going to have awkward sexual tension with off himself. These jokes usually ended up in kissing on various surfaces of the house.

Of course, they had some hardships too, especially during the first few months they started living together; after all, both were quite inexperienced with such a commitment.

They didn't have any big arguments like the one about the Harleys which Jake still remembered with dread, although they had differences in their worldviews, but they learnt to balance them out. Jake knew every single one of Dirk's flaws, but didn't shy away from them anymore, pretending they didn't exist; he knew Dirk did the same for him, and they helped each other to work them out. Jake knew it worked, he's already started feeling like a better man. Their adventures brought out the worst in them; as for the best, there was still a lot to discover.

He didn't love him _despite_ this flaws, he loved him because of them – because of how he tried to fix them and avoid turning into a person they heard about in the future.

Also, there was Dirk's belief that he wasn't accomplished enough, which at first Jake found weird, but then realized had a direct connection to his origins.

However, any sort of inequality stopped being an issue once the Empire issued a five million pounds fine for destruction of property (even though Jake was sure the damage could easily be covered with three) – at least that was what the official court statement said, no magic was ever mentioned, with the Empire too worried about the nation going berserk. Any complaints from people of Sandford and Halitus were hushed down under the disguise of _'mass hallucunation caused by a new chemical weapon tested in Sandford Science Centre'_. At first, people demanded to know the truth, submerged in post-teleportation hysteria, but the Empire's cash compensation shut up most of them. As for those few who continued talking, the Empire issued a series of propaganda literature to make them seem like a joke, so they were never taken seriously by the other people. Thus, the Empire didn't deem them to be a threat.

In any case, the fine has successfully eliminated almost all of SkaiaNet inheritance, and for the first time in his life, Jake had to familiarize himself with the idea of counting his expenses. It was an interesting, but relatively short experience; in the nick of time Dirk's customers started coming in, sent from Avis by Equius and Nepeta.

This was part of the reason why Dirk kept the Centaur Technologies name – as gratitude for the people who gave him the start.

Jake himself endured a change in ways other people treated him; the names he was called varied from a filthy liar to a new messiah, all because of the specks of truth leaked outside the courtroom walls, despite the Empress's notion to hide it. At first he was sad, but then he and the others learned to laugh at the first type of people.

Rumours that spread over the Empire were somehow correct at first, but over the years they've transformed into something incomprehensible and distanced from reality, burying the truth so deeply that no one except for those being in Sandford on that faithful day knew what really happened. Jake thought that this is what the Empire expected people would do, that's why they weren't killed or put in jail – and that's why he was still allowed to publish his series; people regarded everything as merely entertaining stories.

He asked Mrs. Lalonde for assistance, and with her guidance, to his surprise, they became really popular. Thankfully, not popular enough to be recognized in the streets; it's a good thing an author didn't have to show their face to be published. He got enough attention as is, after Nocteville citizens heard he was in the middle of Sandford incident and tried to fish out some information out of him.

The Legends of the World got published too, and Jake hoped that in the future, once the barrier breaks again, people would use this information to fight back.

Of course, he missed the excitement of a chase, the thrilling dangers spirits brought; in attempt to compensate for the lack of adventure he and Dirk set up elaborate traps in the forest for each other, turning it into a battlefield. It was Dirk's idea of a present for his twentieth birthday – he knew Jake so well; of course, Jade joined them as well, always surprised at the creative places the traps were set.

Parting with Jade was… a lot easier than he expected, especially when they visited each other a lot during the first few months.

“I'm going to miss you,” Jake said a month after the final battle, looking at Jade's packed suitcase with the letter of acceptance from Sandford on top.

“No,” she said, her smile kind, but kind of sad. “I don't think you will.”

She was wrong, of course.

But also right, in some sense. He didn't miss her like he used to.

Jake was jerked out of reminiscing on the past by a loud bang at the door and Jade's voice, “Guys, I'm home!”

Jake grinned and exchanged glances with Dirk; despite not living here for a long time, Jade was still calling this place home and opening the front door with her own key.

“Jade!” They both said; they haven't seen her in ages – in three months, to be exact.

She was carrying a suitcase with a golden logo of Sandford Science Centre, as well as a pin with the same image on her raincoat: she was always proud to display her affiliation with the place.

“Come here, you two,” she hugged them tightly and then cringed, sniffing the air. “What's that smell, is something burning?”

“My hopes and dreams of becoming a baker,” Jake sighed.

Jade laughed. “Wow, why are you always trying to cook a feast for whenever I visit? Poor Jane would probably have a heart attack if she saw it.”

“Where is the infamous duo, anyway?” Dirk asked, still holding an arm around her shoulders.

“They decided to stay back and meet Dave and Rose at the train station. As for me, I couldn't wait to see you,” she grinned even wider. “Oh, I missed you so much... Anyway, I've got some surprises for you! Let's start with the most important. Look who's going to join us on our adventure!"

She whistled and looked outside, and soon soft trumping of tiny feet on the wooden floor filled the kitchen, and two puppies ran in, coming up to Dirk and Jake and sniffing their feet.

Dirk and Jake exchanged quick knowing glances again; as they both expected, Jade couldn't handle being dogless for too long.

After Bec died ten months ago, Jade was devastated, and her coping mechanism turned out to be opening an animal shelter. Dirk and Jake ended up volunteering there whenever their jobs allowed, but Jade's main helpers were Jane and Roxy, who became her new best friends after she moved to Sandford and became Roxy's colleague. At first Jake was afraid to leave her alone, worried about how she was going to carry on when there's no one to hold her when she has a nightmare, but then he realized – just because Jade was single didn't mean she was lonely. She had friends to help her get through everything.

"They are adorable, Jade," Jake picked up the white puppy with a black mark over her eye shaped like a scar. The puppy didn't like it and attempted to wiggle out of his grip.

"That's Bec Junior," Jade said and then pointed at the second puppy, whose colours were reversed; he was black with a white mark. "And this one is Jack, they are siblings, so I took both of them, I couldn't separate them."

Dirk petted Jack and he tried to bite his finger.

"You are going to be my favourite," Dirk said confidently. "Do you count them as separate surprises or is there something else you wanted to show us, Jade?"

"Yes, of course!" Jade opened the suitcase and retrieved a newspaper. "Look, guys, I made the front page!"

The page said _‘SkaiaNet heiress catches the sky in the net: a groundbreaking discovery’_ and had a long article about Jade's latest work with SSC.

“Congratulations!” Jake beamed; it wasn't the first time she was praised, and he always got extremely proud, even more proud than of his own accomplishments.

“I hate how they call me SkaiaNet heiress though, SkaiaNet doesn't even exist anymore, why should I be affiliated with it," Jade grimaced. "Why can’t they ever just use my name!”

“Tabloids like this just want to be catchy," Dirk said, skimming the article. "They never even mention your charity work at shelters. In any case, it’s better than the last one you had, what was it?...”

“Don’t remind me!” She rolled her eyes.

“What was it though?” Dirk smirked, making a show of trying to remember. “Oh, right, _eligible_ _genius bachelorette_!”

Jade punched his shoulder. “Oh god, it was horrible! They are always so obsessed with me not wanting to marry anyone! I say it in every interview, I love science and dogs, nothing else. Marriage is trivial and overrated anyway.”

Dirk coughed pointedly, showing her his hand with a golden wedding band, and Jake rolled his eyes.

“...Says the girl who cried the loudest at my wedding day.”

“Well, _duh_ , that was special, it was the wedding of my brother and my best friend! Those were the tears of relief, I could finally stop telling my boss I'll need a vacation in an indeterminate point of time. Why did it take you so long, anyway? I mean, eight months, it's like two hundred and forty-four days! What were you thinking all those days, _hmmm, do I really want to marry this man_ or something?"

"It took me a long time to prepare the ring, that's all," Dirk answered seriously. "It stores poison and tranquilizers inside that can be used if the owner is ever in peril."

Jake laughed, but still probed the three diamonds in the ring, just in case.

Jade didn't know about the agreement they had the day they got together, about waiting for two years – and didn't know that even though they tried to uphold this promise, they couldn't wait this long.

Later, while Jade and Dirk talked more about poisons waiting for the others to arrive, Jake flipped through the newspaper to read the article about Jade and stumbled across another familiar name. The short article was named _The Ampora-Peixes Foundation Finances a New_ _School_ and talked about said school being opened in Fenestram next year that would be free for kids to attend, yet still would provide quality education.

Turns out, dying, receiving the memories of all your alternate lives and then getting back to Earth did Feferi and Eridan good; whenever they saw their names, they were connected to nothing but good causes, charity or research for the benefit of humanity. Occasionally, Aradia and Sollux joined them, the latter being recognized for his engineering skills and the former returning to archaeology. Of course, they would never be Jake's idols again, but from what he saw, he could say they were on a path of redemption and deserved forgiveness for this. They were good people at heart – that's what Dirk saw and that's what Jake believed.

Also, Jake still read everything they published.

Sometimes he thought about meeting with Feferi and having a productive talk that would involve apologies from both sides and maybe a discussion about how they are related, but... it wasn't time for this yet. He wasn't ready. And, judging by how all he got from her were stiff nods of acknowledgment along with regretful diversion of the eyes in rare occasions they met at social events, Feferi wasn't either.

As for Vriska, she disappeared right before the trial, not wanting to be judged for her other crimes, and the military forces of the Empire were sent on a quest to catch her – the Empress wasn't about to let anyone get away without agreeing to never say the truth regarding the Sandford incident.

They were hunting her down for a couple of days, and sent her to jail in the end for trying to avoid prosecution; she was there for exactly ten minutes before Tavros and Gamzee bailed her out for some unexplainable reason – sure, those three had their own complicated relationship Jake would never find out.

They didn't know where any of them were right now, and surprisingly, this time Aranea kept her mouth shut. Karkat and Terezi promised they would keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, and so far, they reported nothing.

Lately, they've been catching wind of Caliborn as well, mostly through the Midnight Crew, who as it turned out held a grunge against Felt and were constantly trying to best them. The moment Jake and Jade returned home two years ago, Spades Slick declared that their agreement with the Harleys has been fulfilled and they weren't needed anymore; this allowed them to set on a full-time path of crime.

However, they didn't leave completely; to Dirk's, Jake's, and Jade's surprise, they often came to Nocteville, driving the reporters and curious idlers away from their house. The Crew didn't ask for anything in return, and Jake wouldn't have known about what was going on if it wasn't for the bartender in The Exiles who blubbered about everything. Jake decided they were simply doing this for the old time's sake, or maybe even as an apology (although the last supposition was highly unlikely). But no matter what, the Midnight Crew were still their helpers kept in shadows, even to this day.

And who knew what kind of things they drove away from them without telling anybody.

Letting them go was for the best, at that time Jake's feelings about everything associated with SkaiaNet were extremely conflicted, despite all his talks about forgiveness.

As for Dirk and Jade... So far they were happy with their jobs, but Jake knew that one day working for someone else wouldn't be enough and they would want to push the boundaries of their great minds even further. Perhaps one day they would unite in forming their own company that will revolutionize the world, and of course, Jake would be there as well, helping them out with all the knowledge and support he possessed, because this was the only way he could be truly happy.

He has already started learning mechanics – building a new dirigible from scratch helped him here. After all, with every single person in his family being some kind of inventor it was silly not to; besides, one day he would work in Dirk and Jade's company as well. They wound call it something cool, like Scientific Bureau of Ultimate Robotics Buildup… Well, he would find a better name. Although he liked the abbreviation – for some reason, SBURB had a good ring to it.

The puppies' squeaky barks informed them that the new guests have arrived, and with a wave of affection, Jake saw Jane, Roxy, Rose, and Dave walking up to the front door.

Roxy, always generous with her emotions, shook both Jake and Dirk by shoulders, telling them how happy she was to see them. The others were more conservative, but with their smiles and jokes Jake knew they were just as thrilled.

Jack and Bec Junior ran to Jane and Roxy, wiggling their tails happily; of course, the girls must know them from the pound just as well as Jade.

Dirk bumped fists with Dave in a tender brotherly greeting, and Dave said, looking over the living room, "Wow, the house is still standing even after you blew up the basement?"

"I didn't blow it up, I just set it on fire, and only because someone," he glanced at Jake, "Was distracting me."

Jake pointed signature finger pistols at him. “Guilty and not regretting it.”

"Anyway, Bro says hi and told me to hand you this weirdass shit," Dave said, giving Dirk a box that contained some obscure looking tools.

“Thanks, man,” Dirk pushed the box inside a shelf that was already bursting from being crammed with assorted things.

Making amends with Dave was easy for Dirk, all they had to do was talk heart-to-heart after everything was settled, and soon after that Dave became one of their best friends. Dane, on the other hand, was a more difficult case, but they reached reconciliation and understanding in the end, and now were behaving like normal supportive brothers should, even though Dane was never included in their clique.

“How are Equius and Nepeta?” Dirk asked.

“Both are good, send their love, greetings, hugs, et cetera,” Dave replied, grabbing a bottle of apple juice out of the pack they kept specifically for his visits.

“And what about… You know what?” Roxy wiggled their eyebrows suggestively.

“About their hypothetical future daughter? Sorry, Rox, it looks like you are about to lose all your savings, they have no progress in the romantic field.”

Rose, who has bet two hundred pounds on them staying friends, looked pleased with herself.

“I'm not sure I like the idea of betting money on real people's relationships,” Jane said, biting her lower lip.

“Oh, come on, Janey, we don't mean any harm, it's not like we are pushing them together or apart, we just want to know if the future will be real. Like watching a sport, but a lot better,” Roxy said, kissing her cheek briefly. “Besides, you did bet on them before,” he pointed at Jake and Dirk.

“Wait, what?” Jake's eyes widened. It was the first time he heard about it, and by the way Dirk was looking at him, he figured it was his first time too.

“It was different,” Jane blushed. “Them getting married was obvious, it was only a matter of time.”

“Yeah, sorry, brother dear,” Jade gave an apologetic smile. “It was an intense competition. I won a hundred pounds,” she added proudly.

“How much did you win, bro?” Dirk asked Dave in a voice someone uses to ask about school grades.

“Don't worry, I did you proud,” he answered. “One hundred fifty-two quid and Rose's Cthulhu keychain.”

“I will win it back some day,” Rose narrowed her eyes.

“Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that,” Dave cooed.

The new arrivals went to put their bags into the new dirigible, while Rose consulted with the map of their journey.

Jake, Dirk, and Jade built it together from scratch – another symbolic act of a new beginning. Now it was big enough to accommodate all of their guests with comfort, had new powerful engines and all kinds of cutting-edge technology, including a television set and their own radio station.

"While we are at it, do you mind making a short detour to Careote?" Rose asked. "Kanaya asked to grab some plants for Porrim and her that Halitus doesn't have, and it's on our way anyway."

"No problem," Jake said, putting an extra thumbtack in the map.

Yes, they were going to Halitus – John, who became their good friend over the time, was always inviting them for all the holidays, and although they didn't always agree because they wanted to celebrate certain dates at home, there was one tradition that never changed – they commemorated the anniversary of the day the war didn't begin by gathering everyone available on Halitus.

Time was merciful on their memories and smoothed all the sadness, and today Jake regarded the time of their impossible quest with fondness, missing the fun they had and trying not to focus on miserable mishaps; especially seeing how it opened a world of so many new possibilities for him.

That day also marked Jake's personal achievement, a month without a nightmare.

They came unexpected after everything was over, as if his mind refused to let go. Sometimes they were memories coloured in scarlet, other times unreasonable scenarios, like the barrier breaking, the paradox destroying everything, the spirits coming back, everyone dead, even the ghosts. Those nights Dirk would hold him tight, reminding him that everything was alright, or they would walk outside and sit by the lake glistening with moonlight. And when Dirk was out of town, there was a pendant he gave him soon after he moved to Nocteville: he knew Jake needed something tangible for reassurance, and thus, Jake has never took off the small golden locket decorated with emeralds, topazes, and engravings, even to this day.

Also there were various scars to remind him about the events, but when he jerked awake covered in cold sweat because he saw Jade dying once again, in the dead silence of the house and coldness of the empty bed, it was so much less nightmare-inducing to grab the pendant or, later, the wedding ring to remember he wasn't living in the past anymore.

He knew Dirk still had the nightmares, like yesterday, for example, Jake woke up from his muttering again, something about emptyness and the future. Dirk confided in him that sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he would still look through the eyes of Heart, still saw the world burning in a million colours humans weren't meant to see.

Dirk didn't talk much about his experience of controlling the spirit of Heart (despite Rose, everyone’s personal therapist, encouraging them not to bottle up their feelings), but his scanty words were enough to form a picture of what happened. Jake did his best to distract him.

"By the way, I almost forgot," Roxy smacked her forehead. "I was talking about the Wondrous Adventures to a gal in SSC, Janna, she is like a huge fan of the series, can't shut up about you. And I might have mentioned that I know the author personally, and now she wants a signed copy," she handed him the book, pulled out of thin air.

"Wow, your first autograph," Jade said. "Soon you'll be so famous you'll hire a bodyguard and they won't allow us to breath in your direction."

"Don't be silly," Jake huffed, feeling blush creeping on his cheeks. Giving an autograph seemed like a huge honour.

He opened the first page, where a dedication was:

_To everyone who made it possible:_

_to those who are no longer with us,_

_and to those who are yet to become one of us;_

_but most importantly, to Dirk, who opened my eyes and became my new life,_

_to Jade, who will always be by my side,_

_to Bec, as important as any human,_

_and to all our new friends._

Jake didn't want to spoil the dedication which he worked so hard on (he thought Dirk would consider it being too sappy, but he said nothing after reading it, just kissed him as if his life depended on it), so he put a signature in the beginning of the first chapter instead.

"I don't know what to write," he confessed, looking at his friends.

"Thank you for having a superb taste in literature," Dirk suggested.

“Buy more of my stuff,” Jade added.

“Visit the plays based on my stuff,” Jane said.

“Wear t-shirts with my portrait on them,” Roxy giggled. "We need that sweet merchandise money."

Jake laughed, and simply wrote, _to Janna, thank you for your support!_ _Wishing you luck with accomplishing your dreams. J.E._

"Well, if everyone's ready, we should move out, the sun won't wait for us," Jade suggested.

Dirk grabbed his katana – they didn't have to bring weapons along anymore, but everyone still did it anyway. Jake knew there was a folding rifle stashed neatly between the clothes in Jade's suitcase, and Jake's pistols were always in the safe of the dirigible.

The katana was a new one that Jake made, even though he required a lot of guidance from Equius before he could produce something resembling a blade, but all the hard work in learning blacksmithery paid off, because the look of Dirk's face when he was presented with it was priceless, like Jake was an entire universe concentrated into a human being.

Jake and Dirk sat in the pilot's seats and started the engines, while the others took their usual places in the living room, playing with Jack and Bec, tuning the radio, unpacking their bags, or pulling out board games.

Jake's gaze fell on the wall briefly, noting the old photo with burnt edges they recovered from the SkaiaNet dirigible – the first one they made together. Now it was surrounded by many new photos with their friends, like from the wedding, and from multiple mass outings in various points of the world, the latest being taken in Fenestram, where Karkat and Terezi has joined their usual group of eight people.

"Aaand we are off!" Jake announced, lifting the airship in the air, and received noises of approval.

He was happy – there were so many new things happening in the world, he’ll never get tired of exploring them. But this, Dirk, Jade, and a ton of friends, was the best new thing of all.

The government was doing a bang-up job of hushing down any mentions of September the 22nd, and Jake knew that in two thousand years magic would be forgotten again, and the recent events would turn into the stuff of legends – and perhaps this time it would be called a legend of Dace Hagler, telling the story of loss and despair and triumph. And who knows, maybe there would be new people inspired by it, who would set on a quest to discover the truth, and find their happiness in the process.

And this was the best ending they could wish for in this story.

_The End._

 

_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As J.K. Rowling once said, _all was well._  
>  Yes, a ton of things happened after September the 22nd, like the trial, everyone moving around, Jake and Jade discussing their relation with John, that piece of land near Sandford becoming a restricted area and attracting lots of curious people, etc., etc. - but all of them are to be left for another story.  
> I plan to draw the photo Jake talks about in the end, so you might want to check either [my tumblr](http://s-opal.tumblr.com/) or this chapter some time later.
> 
> Huge thanks to everyone who read this fic, commented, and left kudos - I love you, thank you for taking interest in the story I've always wanted to tell.  
> Special thanks to Janna who is the best.  
> Well... Off we go, towards the future that has new fandoms and new fics!
> 
> P.S. Beginning the epilogue the same way the first chapter begun was always my dream.  
> Also, my fave Jack Noir is here too now.  
> Also, Feferi and Eridan now have the most fascinating lives, with memories of every single timeline crumpled together.  
> I have a **lot** more things to say, but... it's time to say goodbye.  
>  <3
> 
> P.P.S. If you're reading this fic some time in the future, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. I'd love to know what you think, what your favourite moments were, etc.


End file.
